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Marcel van Oost - FinTech News USA
Connecting the dots in FinTech...
REPORT
Acquiring new customers remains imperative for retail banks fighting acquisition headwinds and increasing attrition trends. Yet an even bigger challenge looms securing primacy by transforming account openings into engaged, balanced relationships. With disruption intensifying competition, institu tions succeeding on both fronts gain strategic advantages.
Primacy signifies a customer’s reliance on one institution as their primary financial hub which can help them manage their financial life (a financial GPS system).
?? NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Varo Bank, N.A., the first nationally-chartered consumer techbank in the U.S., announced the introduction of two new products designed to help Americans relieve growing financial pressure.
Varo Line of Credit provides a unique way for consumers to access credit. Customers can be pre-approved up to $2,000 to cover unexpected expenses, such as medical bills or car repairs, and pay it back over time.
?? INTERVIEW
??INSIGHTS
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S?NEWS
???? NATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
?? Visa and Mastercard agreed to a landmark settlement with U.S. Merchants .
?? Budgeting app Copilot is booming now that Mint is dead, leading to $6M Series A .
?? ACI Worldwide CEO weighs in on FedNow, cross-border payments .
?? Do you want to have access to the best deal flow in FinTech? And/or do you want to invest alongside me and 1000+ other FinTech Angel investors?
领英推荐
FINTECH
Ramp CEO says the FinTech startup is just scratching the surface. Despite all that growth, Eric Glyman, the co-founder and CEO of Ramp, thinks that the industry, and companies like his, are just scratching the surface .
US start-up Frich Money enters pilot partnership with MSU Federal Credit Union. The programme contains a group of Michigan-based finance and insurance start-ups including Newzip, Approva, Ascent and ScribeUp, who will all be offered networking opportunities.
Brex, the AI-powered spend platform for modern companies, announced the closing of its third securitization transaction out of its previously established Brex Commercial Charge Card Master Trust.
Robinhood secured an additional line of credit from JP Morgan, allowing them to secure up to $3.375B if needed. Robinhood bought a company called X1 for $100M back in July . X1 is a platform that offers a no-fee credit card with rewards on each purchase.
PAYMENTS
Apple Faces Legal Protest From Meta, Microsoft, X, Spotify and Match. Five Big Tech companies filed legal petitions protesting Apple’s new app store policies related to Payments for services .
Digital wallets play key role in US lawsuit against Apple. The Justice Departments suit alleges that Apple illegally maintains a monopoly over smartphones by selectively imposing contractual restrictions on, and withholding critical access points from, developers .
Google Wallet requiring device unlocks for every tap to pay transaction. In recent days, some Google Wallet users have noticed that they’re being prompted to always unlock their Android phone for tap to pay regardless of the transaction amount. In some countries, you don’t need to unlock your device for “smaller payments.”
REGTECH
Green Check Named “Best RegTech Company” by FinTech Breakthrough Awards. Recognition from FinTech Breakthrough and the Commercial Cannabis Awards underscore GC's pivotal role in expanding access to necessary financial and business solutions for cannabis-related businesses.
DIGITAL BANKING
Neobank Chime targets Public Listing in the US in 2025, according to a person familiar with the matter. The FinTech company scored a $25 billion valuation in 2021 at the peak of a technology boom which then faded as interest rates and inflation rose.
Is Chime Ready For An IPO? It Has More Primary Customers Than Chase. Chime is planning to go public in 2025. According to a repor t, Chime has not engaged investment banks to date.
CRYPTO
Kraken Unveils Qualified Custody Solution for Crypto in the US. As per its charter, Kraken Financial holds all deposits in full-reserve, making it the natural service provider through which Kraken Institutional can offer qualified custody.
FTX's victims may get all their money back. The judge sentencing Sam Bankman Fried might not care. Customers of FTX, his cryptocurrency exchange, lost more than $8 billion .
Binance follows Circle and drops USDC support on Tron. On Feb. 20, USDC issuer Circle announced plans to discontinue support for the stablecoin over the Tron blockchain , stating that the decision aligns with “efforts to ensure that USDC remains trusted, transparent and safe.”
DONEDEAL
SoFi CEO explains convertible debt offering: ‘We did this deal from a position of strength’. CEO Anthony Noto explained why the online personal finance company issued a convertible debt offering, saying it was a way to lower debt costs .
VCs double down on FinTech Coast, which aims to be the Brex for ‘real-world’ industries. BoxGroup and Avid Ventures co-led the equity raise, while other existing investors such as Accel, Insight Partners and Better Tomorrow Ventures participated.
Goalsetter raises $9.6m to help families build wealth. The new funding will be used to target more partnerships with financial institutions and to launch live bank and credit union product implementations to make it easier to add its technology across multiple technology platforms .
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Goldman’s Cohen heads for exit as GreenSky deal closes. GreenSky is now owned by an investor group led by Sixth Street. Stephanie Cohen, Goldman’s global head of platform solutions, is leaving the bank for IT firm Cloudflare .
Robinhood Co-Founder to Step Down as Creative Chief Baiju Bhatt will remain a member of the investing platform’s board .