Weekly US Fintech Newsletter | 2021 #1
BLOG
REPORT
A 2020 survey by Bank of America found that millennials’ top financial priorities include saving for retirement (75%) and building an emergency fund (51%).
Meanwhile, saving for “life milestones and future goals” (73%) has grown 10 percentage points compared to 2018. But millennials face significant headwinds in making those financial dreams a reality.
👉 Read more here.
INSIGHTS
Fintech use has become a daily habit across all demographic segments and is integrating into nearly every aspect of life. As consumers make a permanent shift to digital and find greater access and inclusivity in fintech, the trust gap between the tech companies and traditional banks has disappeared altogether among young adults.
The report, based on a survey of 2,000 U.S. adult consumers, found that 77% of the overall population trust financial institutions with their financial information, compared with 69% for both tech companies and retailers and 63% for fintech companies.
👉 Read more here.
NOW, ON TO THE SUMMARY OF LAST WEEK'S FINTECH SPACE
NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Payments giant Square will change its corporate name to Block, effective Dec. 10.
The move comes as Square expands beyond its original credit card reader business, with a focus on new technologies like blockchain. Square CEO Jack Dorsey stepped down from his role as Twitter CEO on Monday.
👉 Read more here.
FINTECH HIGHLIGHTS
Massive, a fully remote startup that provides a new way for users to pay for digital apps and services by sharing a small amount of their computers' idle processing power, announced that it has raised $11 million in seed funding. Link here.
Cash App is a mobile payment service, which was created by Square Inc. back in 2013. Now it has more than 70 million active users, and boldly claims to be the easiest way to send money. Read UX legend Peter Ramsey’s case study on Cash App here.
PAYMENTS
Stripe Inc.’s president said the digital payments company that was last valued at $95 billion has no “immediate” plans to go public. Link here. Also, Stripe has brought its point of sale ‘terminal’ to the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, and the Netherlands allowing payments to be taken in the physical world. Link here.
The ability to purchase something at the point of discovery from digital content exists, but checkout technology company Bolt has the opportunity to give that its “one-click” treatment. Link here
BNPL
Credova, a buy now, pay later (BNPL) solution emerging in the increasingly popular outdoor recreation, farm, home, and ranch markets, announced an exclusive agreement with Cornerstone Banks. Link here.
Alice Deng and Lawrence Lin Murata were working at artificial intelligence companies when they found inspiration from their respective family’s businesses to create Slope (YC S21), which enables businesses an easy way to offer buy now, pay later services. Link here.
Afterpay announced that it was going after the $1.5 trillion global subscription payments market by offering to its U.S. customers payment installments for subscriptions, like gym memberships, entertainment subscriptions, and online services. Link here.
CRYPTO
Stripe isn't ruling out accepting cryptocurrency as a method of payment in the future, according to co-founder John Collison. The company ended support for bitcoin payments in 2018, citing volatility and a lack of efficiency in making everyday transactions. Asked whether Stripe would offer crypto support again, Collison said: "We don't yet but I think it's not implausible that we would." Link here.