Clarity Services reports on details of its new Clear Bank Debit™ product in a blog post; product allows underwriters to confirm a consumer's banking status and utilize banking account transaction details for alternative credit underwriting; according to Clarity Services, the view provided by Clear Bank Debit™ can help lenders better understand risk. Source
The accelerator is being launched by the founder of venture capital firm Boldstart Ventures, Ed Sim, and is the first accelerator dedicated to the Hyperledger Fabric blockchain; Sim tells CoinDesk: "We feel like there's a tremendous amount of corporates working and using Hyperledger Fabric, but there aren't as many startups working in that area. We'd like to bridge the gap."; the program, will last eight weeks helping companies to build with the open-source code and they will receive an undisclosed amount to help them along the way. Source
The company says it is recommitting to being a technology company and refocusing on product development; the recommitment will cause less of a focus on customer growth which it has been emphasizing following its new relationship with partner bank Compass; it plans to return to its original mission of being a technology company focused on product development for its customers; the company already offers a number of innovative tech solutions including a checking account product that allows customers to itemize savings for specific goals; the new focus has resulted in the termination of five executives and a 10% reduction in staff. Source
RiverNorth's total portfolio consisted of 10,173 loans with an average loan size of $10,176 at the end of July; in the note to investors RiverNorth shared that investors are becoming more comfortable with online lending assets with more awareness likely to drive further growth; highlights two recent positive events in the industry including Prosper's recent securitization and Lending Club's Q2 2017 results. Source
The deal would add to market competition for retail credit, specifically competing directly with Wal-Mart credit cards; Wal-Mart plans to begin a pilot program with Affirm that would offer installment loan plans in select locations and for a targeted group of online customers; source reports that the installment loans will focus on costlier items of $200 or more; with an Affirm partnership, Wal-Mart could seek to reach an expanded market demographic, specifically customers with limited credit histories; Affirm uses alternative underwriting methods and its loans average approximately $750 with repayment periods of three to 24 months and fixed annual percentage rates ranging from 10% to 30%. Source
Only a few months ago Mark Cuban was criticizing cryptocurrencies as a bubble, he is now backing a new fund; Runa Capital principal Nick Tomaino founded the fund 1confirmation, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission; "I think Nick is one of the sharpest minds in the space, and I'm a big believer that there will be transformational apps built on blockchain," Cuban told CoinDesk; the recent change in opinion by Cuban points to a trend from Wall Street that shows more traditional finance players accepting the value of cryptocurrencies; the fund will make $100,000 to $500,000 investments and focus exclusively on cryptocurrency assets. Source
Steve McLaughlin has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to M&A in fintech, having advised on many deals in the space; he founded his firm FT Partners when he was 32 years old; according to data from KPMG, M&A was down in 2016 by 68% compared to 2015; McLaughlin shares his thoughts on what has contributed to the decline and where the industry is going from here; believes that the ability for companies to raise financing rounds has contributed to the lower amount of M&A deals; many companies in fintech are also fairly young when it comes to the earnings which makes M&A not as attractive to banks; McLaughlin also talks about the deals that have occurred in fintech and the sectors that are hot in 2017. Source
As online financial services expand, marketers are seeking new ways to get in front of their customers; Facebook Messenger chatbots are one example and TD Ameritrade is taking full advantage of this source; it has launched a Facebook Messenger chatbot that gives customers instant updates on their portfolios and trades; the firm has worked through a number of security and encryption issues and is now offering one of the industry's leading Facebook Messenger chatbot services. Source
SuperMoney has developed new auto loan technology to provide consumers with auto lending offers; it signed on 20 auto lenders for the product's launch and is able to provide interested borrowers with options for secured and unsecured loans, refinancings, and private-party auto loans; the firm is seeking to simplify the search process for finding an auto loan and compares its technology to current services for buying an airline ticket. Source
2016 was a year filled with shaky investor confidence, compliance issues and bad credit performance in online lending; OnDeck CEO Noah Breslow's 2017 LendIt USA keynote focused on the challenges posed by 2016 and the trends for 2017 and beyond; after seeing how the industry reacted to these challenges he stated that he is now more optimistic than ever before; the industry is maturing and measures of success have shifted; the unstoppable trends include: customer awareness, trust and adoption of online lending, bank partnerships, constructive engagement between the public and private sector, and the global growth of online lending; he also predicts that by the mid 2020's nearly all small business loans will be made online. Source