Here are what I consider to be the top 10 most important fintech news stories of the past week.
Affirm, Shopify partner for new interest-free, zero-fee online shopping option from CNBC – This is a really big deal. Affirm will be powering Shopify’s buy now pay later product. I would argue this could be bigger than Affirm’s Walmart deal as Shopify has over one million merchants and is growing rapidly.
Kabbage Launches Checking Accounts for Small Business from Lend Academy – The new Kabbage Checking account pays 1.1% interest and has probably the richest feature set of any small business checking account today.
FDIC floats certification program for fintechs working with banks from American Banker – The FDIC has proposed a potential set of standards and a certification program intended to make it easier for financial institutions to partner with technology firms.
Inside Goldman’s product roadmap for digital bank Marcus from Tearsheet – Goldman Sachs is working on becoming a full service digital bank but is looking for inspiration from the big tech companies rather than big banks as it considers where to take its brand.
The OCC Issues Proposed True Lender Rule that Should Clarify Online Lenders and Bank Relationships from Crowdfund Insider – The OCC officially proposed a new rule that would resolve uncertainty over the issue of true lender once and for all. The proposed rule basically says a bank is the “true lender” if, as of the date of origination, it is named as the lender in the loan agreement or if it funds the loan.
The Online Bank Insurgency Of 2020 from Forbes – Some great stats here on digital banking penetration from Ron Shevlin from a new study: 14.2 million Americans—6% of US adults with a checking account—now consider a digital bank to be their primary bank.
Mark Cuban-backed finance app Dave says its new mobile bank account is headed for 1 million users from CNBC – Dave began slowly rolling out their new bank account in May to a waiting list of two million people and they are getting a 50% uptake.
New York Passes Small Business Lending Disclosure Bill from Bloomberg Law – New York has passed a bill that will require lenders to disclose terms such as an estimated annual percentage rate, the total repayment amount, and other fees or costs of financing extended to small businesses.
The CFO of Visa maps out 2 areas it’s investing in beyond cards to keep up with fintechs that are transforming the payments game from Business Insider – Visa has started to look beyond their core offering for additional revenue opportunities as the payments market heats up.
Jack Ma’s Ant Group Plans Dual IPOs in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bypassing New York from The Wall Street Journal – Ant Group, formerly known as Ant Financial and the maker of Alipay, is going to IPO in both Shanghai and Hong Kong.
