REPORT
Since the inception of Apple Pay in 2014, Apple has been at the forefront of bigtechs exploring the integration of financial services into their existing ecosystems, progressively introducing a gamut of financial offerings.
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
PayPal USD is fully backed by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term U.S. treasuries and similar cash equivalents, and can be redeemed 1:1 for U.S. dollars.
PayPal is rolling out a stablecoin, the first by a large financial company and a potentially significant boost to the sluggish adoption of digital tokens for payments.
📰 ARTICLE
Bankman-Fried is scheduled to face a criminal trial on Oct. 2 over charges he misused billions of dollars in customer deposits. Federal prosecutors have accused him of indulging in luxuries purchased with stolen money.
The US holds a prominent position in the global fintech scene and is considered one of the leading countries in fintech innovation, investment and market size.
The country possesses the most mature innovation ecosystem in terms of venture capital (VC) firms, entrepreneurs, talent pools, universities, and access to funding, and is home to the largest financial services industry in the world.
If you shop online, you’ve likely interacted with (or at least seen) embedded finance, most commonly in the form of the Buy Now, Pay Later button that has become all but ubiquitous during online checkout.
Though just one example, today, the vast majority of embedded finance products are B2C, owing to a buying journey that is simpler and far easier to digitize.
The relationship between fintechs and incumbents has long been fraught with tension. But Marie-Elise Droga believes it doesn’t have to be this way.
👨💻 BLOG
Varo filed its second quarter call report at the end of July, and the picture it paints isn’t exactly encouraging.
Though the company has made substantial progress — lowering its quarterly losses from a peak of $88 million in Q4’21 to about $27.5 million last quarter, Varo’s progress on its “path to profitability” appears to have stalled.
💡INSIGHTS
MoneyLion recorded a net loss before other expense and income taxes of $1.7 million for the second quarter of 2023 versus a net loss before other income and income taxes of $26.9 million in the second quarter of 2022, and a net loss of $27.7 million for the second quarter of 2023 versus a net loss of $23.1 million in the second quarter of 2022. Adjusted EBITDA was $9.2 million for the second quarter of 2023 versus ($18.5) million in the second quarter of 2022, when adjusted for the following non-operating costs.
The neobank Dave narrowed its net loss in the second quarter, and CEO Jason Wilk says it can become profitable next year as planned by continually refining its core product — $500 cash advances underwritten by artificial intelligence.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🇺🇸 NATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️Bunq CEO, Ali Niknam: US regulators ‘tough but fair’ amid license wait.
⭐️ PayPal's weak margin eclipses upbeat spending outlook.
⭐️ Jack Dorsey's Block reports $5.5 Billion in Q2 revenue.
⭐️ SEC ends investigation into Better.com
⭐️ InComm Payments acquires Zenda.
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PAYMENTS
ReceiptHero announced that it will further deepen its partnership with Verifone consolidating its integration into Verifone’s global payment platform.
Dwolla launches API solution for streamlined payments operations.
Marqeta has signed a four-year extension of its partnership with Block as its revenues increased. The company will continue to power Block’s mobile money transfer app Cash App through to 2027.
BNPL
Block is shutting down the Cash App's Verse brand in the EU and its BNPL platform Clearpay in Spain, France and Italy, citing disappointing growth and profitability.
Tabit and Jifiti partner on embedded B2B lending for merchants in Canada.
CRYPTO
Revolut to shutter US crypto operations due to 'Regulatory Environment'. Revolut has announced the suspension of its cryptocurrency services in the United States.
Coinbase Global asked a judge to end the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's lawsuit accusing the world's largest publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange of violating federal securities laws.
Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, has reportedly given a mixed response about whether the cryptocurrency exchange plans to leave the United States amid regulatory uncertainty.
BitPay announced the launch of BitPay Bill Pay, a new solution that allows cryptocurrency users to pay bills directly from their crypto wallets.
SoFi Bank has revealed in its quarterly earnings report that it holds $170 million worth of crypto, made up of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Solana, Ethereum Classic, and Dogecoin.
BLOCKCHAIN / DEFI
MIT’s Project Hamilton for CBDC open sources smart contract research. iven the solution is designed for central banks, it is a centralized offering and sidesteps using blockchain, although it supports Ethereum smart contracts.
DONE DEAL
Lula has raised $35.5 million in a Series B funding round after experiencing a massive surge in customers.
Former Brex duo raises $5 million for new, pre-revenue A.I. agent startup Parcha AI meant to help fintech teams scale.
INVESTMENT
The PLS family of financial service centers and Green Dot Corporation announced a new partnership to build and deliver seamless, affordable and useful financial tools and services to PLS’ five million-plus customers.
Settle announced a new purchasing suite designed specifically for founders of e-commerce businesses.
Galileo Financial Technologies announced that its affiliate’s conversational AI engine, Cyberbank Konecta, which was integrated into the existing tech stack of SoFi Technologies, Inc. is delivering on SoFi’s mission for member engagement.
Greenlight Financial Technology has launched the Greenlight Family Cash Mastercard to help those same customers build their credit before they reach adulthood.
INSURTECH
Zirtue announces its partnership with TruStage™. Through this collaboration, the peer-to-peer lending platform will now help protect customers by making TruStage™'s newest product, Payment Guard Insurance, available.
FRAUD PREVENTION
ForwardLane announces the launch of its new generative decision intelligence platform EMERGE to help solve many enterprise challenges such as data transparency, data privacy and data security issues.
If you are a fintech startup and have over 100 questions send me an email, maybe I can answer a few.