What’d I miss? News and Insights that got noticed

Key themes this week (August 4 - 10)

• PayPal launches its own stablecoin
• Block shutters some European operations
• upSWOT and NerdWallet Team to Help Small Businesses
• Banks’ Problems Aren’t Over, According to the Bond Market

PayPal launches its own stablecoin

"...PayPal USD (PYUSD) is fully backed by US dollar deposits, short-term US treasuries and similar cash equivalents, and can be redeemed 1:1 for US dollars.”

Key takeaways:

• Starting August 7th, eligible US PayPal customers who purchase PayPal USD will be able to transfer the token to external wallets, send person-to-person payments, fund purchases at checkouts supported by PayPal, and convert cryptocurrency holdings to and from Paypal USD
• Schulman says PayPal USD will be compatible with the Web3 ecosystem from day one and will soon be available on Venmo

LinkedIn Post

Mexican challenger albo snaps up delt.ai for $20m

"...With this strategic acquisition, Albo aims to strengthen its position in Mexico’s financial services sector by becoming “the only neobank to offer debit and credit products for both consumers and SMBs.”

Key takeaways:

• Founded in 2016 and also based in Mexico City, Albo offers personal and business financial services including a personal debit account, a business account, credit, payroll, savings and cryptocurrencies trading
• The company claims over two million users, with a 3x rise in revenue and annual transactions exceeding $5 billion

LinkedIn Post

Block shutters some European operations

"...Digital payments company Block is shuttering some European business operations, including peer-to-peer business Cash App’s Verse brand in the European Union and buy now, pay later platform Clearpay in Spain, France and Italy, Block Head Jack Dorsey said Thursday.”

Key takeaways:

• The moves are part of Block’s pledge earlier this year to ensure its investments are focused on customer retention as it pursues profitable growth over the long term
• Additionally, the company has slowed its pace of hiring and has sought to pull back on sales and marketing spending

LinkedIn Post

Revolut halts US crypto trading

"...U.S. customers will no longer be able to buy tokens on the neobank’s platform as of Sept. 2, and crypto access for those users will be disabled a month later, the neobank said.”

Key takeaways:

• The wind-down, first reported by Decrypt, will affect roughly 2% of Revolut’s U.S. retail customer base
• Revolut’s decision to exit the space comes as U.S. regulators have filed lawsuits against several crypto firms in recent months, following a year of high-profile scandals that have rocked the digital-asset sector

LinkedIn Post

Fintech Wisetack bets on bank partnerships for growth

"...In the point-of-sale financing space, fintech Wisetack is taking a different path than big buy now, pay later players by focusing on installment payments for in-person services such as home repairs.”

Key takeaways:

• By linking with both banks and software companies, the San Francisco, California-based Wisetack’s platform enables pay over time options for the services industry
• Wisetack, which has raised $64 million since its 2018 founding, works with tens of thousands of small services merchants through its software integrations, said CEO Bobby Tzekin during an Aug. 2 interview

LinkedIn Post

upSWOT and NerdWallet Team to Help Small Businesses

"...Embedded finance platform upSWOT has teamed with NerdWallet to help small businesses. The partnership, announced Monday (Aug. 7), combines upSWOT’s embedded finance tools and NerdWallet Small Business’ financial guidance to offer small businesses “comprehensive financial solutions.”

Key takeaways:

• According to a company news release, upSWOT’s tools offer business insights based on banking, eCommerce, payroll, marketing, accounting and other subscription software
• By partnering with upSWOT through this pilot, we will integrate tools and resources that help simplify small business owners’ financial decisions and fuel their growth and success,” said Brandon McDonough

LinkedIn Post

Banks’ Problems Aren’t Over, According to the Bond Market

"...Moody’s bank downgrade highlights how bonds are showing less relief on banks than their shares.”

Key takeaways:

• Many of the reasons for the actions will be familiar: Rising deposit costs and risks to commercial property and construction loans posed by the shift to remote work
• Moody’s analysts acknowledged in their Monday report that the Fed’s tougher capital requirements for banks with over $100 billion in assets should be positive for their credit risk, as more equity capital better protects bondholders.

LinkedIn Post

U.S. consumers saying 'bad time to buy' a house hits 13-year high in July

"...The portion of U.S. consumers saying now is a "bad time to buy" a new home increased by 4 percentage points in July to 82%, according to a report released Monday by Fannie Mae, the highest level since the mortgage finance giant began conducting the survey in 2010.”

Key takeaways:

• The grim perception of the housing market comes as home costs appear to have hit a floor after downward price pressure from the Federal Reserve's 525 basis points worth of interest rate hikes since March 2022
• Not all was pessimistic in the report, however, as confidence in the labor market and expected decreases in future mortgage rates pushed the overall Home Purchase Sentiment Index to 66.8, up 4 points year over year and 0.8 points from June

LinkedIn Post

Check this out:

Consultant Rob Chrisman and Curinos’ Richard Martin join the (F)insights podcast to discuss how mortgage lenders will react to the latest market contraction, the likely trajectory of origination margins, the impact of the mortgage availability index being at its lowest level since 2013 and more...

Listen:?https://hubs.li/Q01Yw8R00

As I am always interested in what you think about these posts, send me a message, or just leave a comment on the post on LinkedIn