Some interesting stories out of Washington this week where we saw two very different Senate hearings, one featuring the former CEO of SVB and the other featuring the current CEO of OpenAI. We also noted the launch of a new financial blockchain network, Q1 earnings from Nubank, and Truist launching a gamified savings app. Here are what I consider to be the top 10 fintech news stories of the week.
SVB’s CEO ‘deeply sorry’ but assures he did no wrong from Fintech Nexus – The former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank testified before the Senate Banking Committee this week where he apologized for what happened but blamed social media and rapid interest rate rises on the demise of the bank. Interestingly, when asked what mistakes he made he could not identify anything.
OpenAI’s Sam Altman Urges A.I. Regulation in Senate Hearing from The New York Times – Staying on Capitol Hill, there was also a hearing this week on AI featuring the CEO of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. He called on lawmakers to regulate AI because “if this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong.”
Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, and Other Big Firms Back Launch of Financial Blockchain from Decrypt – While the financial blockchain space has been quiet as of late there was some big news from some major corporations recently. The Canton Network has been designed to streamline financial markets with web3 technology and includes the likes of Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Deloitte and almost 30 other big name companies.
Nubank shares up 10% as neobank reports record revenue in Q1 from Fintech Nexus – Leading Brazilian digital bank, Nubank, reported earnings this week and it was another solid quarter. Revenue was up 87% year over year to $1.6 billion and it was their third straight quarter of net profits.
Truist launches its standalone gamified finance app from American Banker – Truist acquired Long Game last year and the gamified savings app is now available for Truist customers. It is separate from the main Truist app but to use Long Game you must be linked to a Truist account. The new app is targeted at millennial and Gen-Z customers and is an attempt to change savings behavior.
Jack Henry Adds FedNow to Real-Time Payments Offerings from PYMNTS – While FedNow is still a couple of months from launch, leading core banking provider Jack Henry is “operationally ready” to support the new instant payment service. More than 20 Jack Henry clients will take part in the early adopter program.
As payments systems go digital, they are changing global finance from The Economist – In a special report titled, Cashless Talk, The Economist writers take a deep dive into digital payments. With eight separate stories covering the strength of the US dollar, India’s UPI, crypto, CBDCs and more.
Petal’s Prism Data partners with Plaid from Fintech Nexus – Prism Data, recently spun out of Petal, has announced a partnership with Plaid. The partnership will allow lenders who are using Plaid to access Prism Data’s analytics to provide a more in depth view of the borrower’s financial situation.
Fintech Ramp Launches AI-enhanced Tools to Help Businesses Streamline Operations from Crowdfund Insider – Ramp announced new AI-enhanced tools this week to help their business customers find time and money savings. Powered by GPT-4, Ramp Intelligence “unlocks the value of unstructured data previously siloed in card transaction data, documents, and receipts for the very first time.”
Ripple Buys Crypto Custody Firm Metaco for $250M from CoinDesk – The crypto space continues to forge ahead with Ripple acquiring Swiss custody firm Metaco for $250 million. The technology developed by Metaco will allow Ripple to expand its offerings for custody, issuing, and settlement of tokenized assets.
