FinTech Collective

As new regulation has sprung up throughout the US surrounding the protection of children online,?social media platforms may be able to take a page from the financial services industry’s playbook. For the first time a broader array of digital platforms are being asked to do what legislation has always mandated for financial institutions: protecting people from themselves. ? Understandably, age thresholds are necessary to access everything from credit cards, to mortgages, to investment accounts. The silver lining? These restrictions also?create the opportunity for a new subset of products and services to meet the unique needs of this generation.? ? In addition to the questions surrounding subjective parental controls as a better alternative to government-imposed restrictions for non-financial topics,?constitutionality is also becoming a more relevant consideration.?The key concerns: are the harms to children significant enough to justify these laws, and do these new laws place undue burdens on free speech and the right to access information? Or perhaps most importantly – will these laws even be successful,?or will children just become more adept at posing as adults to gain access? Featured Companies: Plaid, MoneyLion, CapIntel, Termii Group, mattilda., Antler, Octane?, Extend https://bit.ly/4eHRzDy #fintech #fintechnews

Eurozone house prices have risen for the first time in over a year,?according to the FT, likely fueled by lower mortgage rates. Beginning in early 2022, demand for European property saw steep declines as European Central Bank rates steadily hiked in the effort to combat inflation. As those same rates were cut once in June, once in September and likely another time in November, house prices increased 1.3% year-on-year this quarter.? ? European property prices are still far from recovered. In Germany, one of the most hard-hit markets and Europe’s largest economy, housing prices are still 12% below their peak in 2022 and are still down 2.6% year-on-year even as they increased quarter-on-quarter. Despite this,?property owners are starting to be back in favor with credit investors as bonds of European residential property companies are now seeing significant price increases.?In particular, so-called “hybrid bonds” - a form of junior debt without a maturity date - are seeing some of the strongest recoveries against an improving macro backdrop. ? Real estate bonds are an important component of European high-yield funds,?and asset managers have found European property bonds becoming a consensus long in the market, even as many property managers are still suffering from conditions in the past year. Recovery across different European countries and regions is likely to happen at different paces and to different extents -?somewhat akin to the EU’s motto: united in diversity. Featured Companies: Vestwell, NEXU, OXIO https://bit.ly/3BuMhwt #fintech #fintechnews

Of the $2.6t settled in stablecoins this year, much of it supported practical use cases beyond trading.?A recent study surveying 2,500 crypto users across several large emerging market countries showed stablecoin volumes grew steadily even during market downturns, suggesting broader utility for everyday financial needs. The appeal of a currency that can weather both storms and slumps seems to be mounting. Key findings show that 57% of respondents reported increased stablecoin usage over the past year, with 72% expecting this trend to continue.?Beyond facilitating cryptocurrency trades, the most popular use cases include currency conversion, remittances, paying for goods, and salaries.? ? Recent developments in the fintech space further emphasize this shift.?Companies like Robinhood and Revolut are exploring their own stablecoin offerings amid evolving regulations,?while Circle, a major player in the stablecoin industry, launched the “Circle Compliance Engine” this week to support on-chain compliance needs. Talk about making moves—both literally and figuratively! Featured Companies: NYDIG, mattilda., Flutterwave, Vestwell https://bit.ly/4dqOlDe #fintech #fintechnews

Citadel and Millennium traders are catching the startup bug,?leaving behind their high-stakes trading pods to launch their own hedge funds. This year alone, over 20 traders have reportedly left – or are expected to leave – Citadel and Millennium to raise their own funds, following the path paved by Bobby Jain, Diego Megia, and Todd Barker, who collectively raised $14b this year.? ? This surge of trader-turned-founders echoes the rise of Julian Robertson’s "tiger cubs," former Tiger Management traders who launched legendary firms like Lone Pine Capital and Viking Global Investors. Now, Citadel and Millennium are incubating the next generation of hedge fund founders, where their high-pressure "pod" structure is?training traders to thrive when they set off to launch their own funds. ? This trend isn’t unique to hedge funds.?A similar trend is unfolding across successful fintech startups,?where employees from major players like Mercado Libre, Square, Rappi, and Stripe are striking out on their own. Recent research published in Forbes shows that 37 Mercado Libre alumni, 32 from Square, 28 from Rappi, and 25 from Stripe have gone on to launch fintech companies. ? Whether it's traders from top hedge funds or employees from fintech giants, the lesson is clear: elite firms are fertile breeding grounds for the next generation of entrepreneurs. The PayPal Mafia might need to scoot over—there’s a new mafia in town. Featured Companies: Axoni, Octane?, MoneyLion, Flutterwave https://bit.ly/3XE4saq #fintech #fintechnews

Since our first visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2016, FinTech Collective has been deeply committed to the region’s transformative journey. This week, we had the privilege of co-hosting an event in Riyadh with 24 Fintech titled “Shaping the Future of Financial Services in MENA,” we were honored to kick it off with a keynote from His Excellency Yazeed Al-Nafjan, CFA We were joined by a fantastic audience of senior representatives from the Saudi Central Bank – SAMA , the Capital Market Authority, key leaders from local financial services firms, investors, and entrepreneurs driving innovation in the space. Our outstanding portfolio companies qlub, Pemo, WheeKeep, and Ziina ???? all helped steer insightful discussions across three critical areas: 1) Building a Global Fintech Company from MENA: Exploring the opportunities and challenges of scaling fintech from the region to the world. 2) SAMA’s Role in the KSA Ecosystem: Understanding how Saudi Arabia’s regulatory environment shapes fintech's future. 3) Attracting Foreign Investors to MENA: We discussed how we created a first-of-its-kind framework, adapting standard U.S. and U.K. venture capital documents to align with KSA’s local legal requirements. It was a remarkable day of thought leadership, collaboration, and a shared vision for the future of financial services in KSA and the broader Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. As our colleagues Jean Abillama, CFA, Faisal Kawar, and Zein Dayekh would say.. Yalla ?? ?? ??

Such a great evening with fantastic views and even better company. Thank you WestCap for hosting, and to all those who joined us!

While the US presidential debate may have been the major headline of the week, we aren’t the only country with contentious policy divides at home.?Also hot off the press is the UK’s debt dilemma.?In the next half century, the ratio of public debt to GDP is projected to climb to nearly 275%, vs 100% now. In addition to the widely accepted impacts that productivity and an aging population will have on the public debt outlook,?another theme has been thrown into the mix: climate. ? This time though, the datapoints are as concrete as an aging population.?Damage related to climate change is a major contributor to the outlook over the next 50 years, with the potential to drive up debt by 20-25% of GDP, even if global temperature increases are capped at 2 degrees Celsius. If temperatures rise by up to 3 degrees though, debt could swell by 33% of GDP – at least – as the Office for Budget Responsibility highlighted a "considerable" risk that the actual costs might be significantly higher. ? Climate has been a notoriously partisan issue, but as the links to the economy become more and more tangible?there may be less room for ‘alternative facts’ on both sides of the pond. Featured Companies: MoneyLion, Axoni, Coincover, mattilda. https://bit.ly/3zp2bb9 #fintech #fintechnews

Soaring rents have been squeezing renters nationwide,?rising over 25% since the pandemic began—especially in fast-growing cities like Miami and Phoenix. As Americans struggle to afford housing, the US Department of Justice is stepping in, accusing RealPage, a property management software, of enabling price-fixing among landlords through its AI-driven pricing tools. The DOJ claims that RealPage's algorithm, by gathering confidential data from landlords, allows for coordinated rent hikes,?undermining competition and harming millions of renters.?The machine learning system evaluates competitors' data and suggests prices based on that input, which the DOJ claims restricts independent price competition—effectively turning private data sharing into a tool for illegal coordination. In an age where AI and real-time data are shaping nearly every industry,?pricing decisions have become more dynamic than ever.?This trend extends beyond rent; even something as seemingly trivial as the cost of a cocktail, or as we wrote about previously, the cost of a cheeseburger (Fast Food to Fintech). As we prepare for the US Open final this Sunday, we wonder how many Honey Deuce cocktails will be sold. The price of this iconic drink has outpaced inflation in recent years, prompting many to ask: who truly sets the cost and?what could happen if AI begins to dictate pricing based on real-time consumer data? Featured Companies: Vestwell, Ziina ????, Fondeadora, Centrifuge, minu, Flutterwave https://bit.ly/4e7rTjm #fintech #fintechnews

During a week where it feels like the world economy rests on Nvidia’s earnings (Nvidia’s earnings have been reported to have the same impact on markets as US jobs figures), the Magnificent 7 stocks continue to be top of mind. But it would appear that?the opportunity set extends far beyond the U.S. - the emerging markets are back. ? In the 2000s,?the economic growth of emerging markets was first coined the “rise of the rest.”?But by the early 2010s, it was clear that the world was back in an era of U.S. centric growth. That landscape is subtly changing again today.? ? Thematically,?many emerging market economies are well poised to serve the wave of AI application driven needs?- Taiwan in semiconductors, Malaysia in data centers and Mexico for nearshoring capabilities given its proximity to the U.S. If met, this wave of demand is likely to create new pools of profit in emerging economies. In short - just like a celebrity emerging from filtering drinking water through their underwear with Bear Grylls on the side of a wet mountain -?from the depths they emerge! Featured Companies: Flutterwave, Simetrik, MoneyLion, Performativ - Wealth Management Software https://bit.ly/4g6SmiD #fintech #fintechnews

For those in Riyadh next week, we are excited to have Faisal Kawar participating on several different panels - see below for more details and please reach out!