👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
A consortium of community banks will announce the launch of CHUCK™, an open network for instant payments. According to the Alloy Labs Alliance, the network will enable consumers to:
“Send money from their banking app (desktop or mobile), and let recipients choose where they want the money to go, including some of the popular payment networks.”
The new network—to be integrated into community banks’ mobile banking apps—will alleviate the need for consumers to move money between apps or log in to their bank account to check their balance just to transfer funds from another application.
👉 Read the full Forbes and the Fintech Snark Tank article, written by Ron Shevlin, here.
📰 ARTICLE
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that LendUp Loans has agreed to halt making any new loans and collecting on certain outstanding loans, as well as to pay a penalty, to resolve a September 2021 lawsuit alleging that it continued to engage in illegal and deceptive marketing in violation of a 2016 CFPB order. The lawsuit also accuses LendUp of violating fair lending regulations.
“LendUp was backed by some of the biggest names in venture capital,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra.
“We are shuttering the lending operations of this fintech for repeatedly lying and illegally cheating its customers.”
LendUp Loans, headquartered in Oakland, California, offered single-payment and installment loans to consumers online and pitched itself as an alternative to payday lenders.
LendUp attracted equity and debt investments from prominent investors, including Google Ventures, Andreessen Horwitz, Kleiner Perkins, PayPal Holdings, and QED Investors.
👉 Read the full article by The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) here.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🇺🇸 NATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️Fintech startup LiveFlow has raised a $3.5 million seed round, led by Moonfire Ventures with backing from Y Combinator, Seedcamp, and WndrCo. Link here.
⭐️Mastercard and McDonald’s announced an agreement for Mastercard to acquire McDonald’s state-of-the-art personalization platform and decision engine company, Dynamic Yield. Link here.
⭐️Staircase steps up effort to build the ‘AWS Marketplace for the mortgage industry’ with fresh $18M. Link here.
⭐️NorthOne, one of America's leading banking apps for small businesses, and vcita, the complete business management platform for small businesses, announced a partnership to help small business owners improve their financial health. Link here.
DIGITAL BANKING
Avant, a FinTech focused on getting credit access for middle-income consumers, announced that is has expanded its portfolio with the launch of Avant Banking.
Avant Banking will come with access to spending accounts, debit cards, ACH transfers and access to early payday funds for customers with direct deposit. Those customers who make a deposit will then get a virtual card that can be added to Apple Wallet or Google Pay.
👉Read the full pymnts article here.
PAYMENTS
H&R Block filed a trademark infringement lawsuit over Square’s new name, “Block”.
The tax preparation service seeks to keep Block from using the new name, saying in a press release that the fintech company “would improperly capitalize on the goodwill and consumer trust cultivated by Block since 1955.”
👉Read the full CNBC article here.
CRYPTO
Alkami Technology Inc., a leading cloud-based digital banking solutions provider for U.S. banks and credit unions, has announced Idaho Central Credit Union ("ICCU") has implemented bitcoin services through NYDIG and the Alkami Platform.
Already a leader in ebranch, mobile, and digital banking, ICCU's partnership with NYDIG will allow Idaho Central members to buy and sell bitcoin within its mobile app and online banking platform.
👉 Read the full finextra article here.
INVESTMENT
No-fee trading app Robinhood has acquired cross-exchange trading platform Cove Markets to help ensure quality trade executions for its users. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Cove co-founders Scott Knudsen and Victoria Glava as well as the Cove Markets team will join Robinhood’s crypto team as part of the acquisition.
The crypto team will focus on “obtaining quality executions for customers in the crypto market,” Robinhood said in the post.
👉Read the full coindesk article written by Michael Bellusci here.
If you are a fintech startup and have over 100 questions send me an email, maybe I can answer a few.