US FinTech: | 2023 #34
US FinTech: | 2023 #34
Weekly news up to Thursday, 24th of August 2023
REPORT
This pilot study explored two process components to analyze impacts and identify benefits:
1. Issuance of CBDCs to financial institutions and their customers to lay the architectural foundation for a CBDC-based cross-border payments ecosystem
2. Peer-to-peer remittances to demonstrate the benefits of using a tokenized form of the US dollar and Philippine Peso (PHP) to the end customer.
👀 NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Adyen, Braintree and Stripe face off.
The processing giants are battling for market share in the U.S., with some cutting prices in their fight to win over merchants.
As the digital payments race to land and retain merchant clients intensifies worldwide, PayPal’s Braintree appears to be at least holding its own against European rivals Adyen and Stripe.
📰 ARTICLE
In 2021, Ifill concluded that starting her own company was the best way to help other Black and minority entrepreneurs get their own businesses off the ground. In January, she launched Guava, an online banking platform aimed specifically at Black small-business owners.
In an era of soaring interest rates and intense competition, fintechs are increasingly deciding they need to become banks to ensure their longterm survival. They’re also finding that doing so isn’t easy.
💡INSIGHTS
Shares of Better.com are getting hammered into the ground after the digital mortgage company completed its long-delayed SPAC merger and began to trade as a public company for the first time.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S NEWS
🇺🇸 NATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
⭐️ As more consumers shift deposits, Plaid lowers one hurdle.
⭐️ Sezzle's U.S. stock market debut complicated by its Australian trading.
⭐️ Bill to compete with Intuit after partnership ends.
⭐️ Better.com is making its public debut on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbols “BETR” and “BETRW.”
⭐️ Bankman-Fried on ‘Bread and Water’ and No Adderall.
⭐️ Zip tipped to abandon US.
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DIGITAL BANKING
The Federal Reserve Board announced an enforcement action against Farmington State Bank, of Farmington, Washington, and its holding company, FBH Corporation.
PAYMENTS
JP Morgan is rolling out support for Apple's Tap to Pay to its US merchant clients, with beauty giant Sephora the first retailer out of the gate.
Rule makers in New Jersey have passed a bill that limits the surcharge applied by merchants and passed on to consumers who want to pay with a card over cash.
TreviPay released a new capability to support cross-currency sales between businesses, showcasing its commitment in orchestrating choice, convenience and efficiency in B2B payments to merchants around the world.
CRYPTO
Coinbase takes stake in Circle, commits to ‘long term success’ of USDC.
M&A’s
Velo Payments has announced the acquisition of the payment processing platform YapStone in order to offer its customers improved payment methods.
Yahoo has acquired Commonstock, a social platform that lets retail investors link their brokerage accounts and share their portfolio's performance and discuss their trades and strategies. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
INVESTMENT
Ramp is raising several hundred million from investors at a $5.5 billion valuation, measured before the investment.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged fintech investment adviser Titan Global Capital Management USA with misleading investors with advertisements about performance metrics.
Modulus has released new white-label crowdfunding and private placement platforms for non-accredited investors.
DONE DEAL
BitGo was able to lock in an even higher valuation from investors, raising a $100 million Series C at a $1.75 billion valuation. The cash infusion will be used for strategic acquisitions and to grow BitGo’s regulated custody.
Finastra has successfully secured a groundbreaking private loan package. The intention behind this impressive capital injection is to refinance Finastra’s existing debt.
Ramp announces $300 million in new funding to accelerate expansion, hiring, and product roadmap.
ClassWallet draws $95M in funding. The funding will support the company’s ongoing growth in enabling government agencies, particularly those in education, to digitally manage their finances.
PARTNERSHIPS
Tabit and Jifiti announced their partnership to serve B2B merchants in the Canadian market.
Larky and Mahalo Banking announce an expanded partnership that enables all Mahalo clients to benefit from Larky’s nudge® platform.
Pinwheel partners with Plaid to provide complementary payroll data services for its Income product.
Cross River Bank is proud to join forces with The Empty Stocking Fund (ESF) and Caden Teaches Finances in order “to support Atlanta educators and young learners.”
Cross River Partners with Current to further its mission of financial inclusion and serving the underbanked population of 26 million.
Digital Dollar Project and Western Union pilot CBDC for cross-border remittances.
Solana Pay is now integrated with Shopify, enabling enterprises on the e-commerce platform to leverage the protocol for transactions.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Stash has appointed Chien-Liang Chou as its new chief technology officer (CTO).
Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) announced Martin Murrell has been named Head of Global Payments and Milton Santiago was named Head of Global Digital Solutions.
If you are a fintech startup and have over 100 questions send me an email, maybe I can answer a few.