Friday June 8, 2018 –
Here are the new and noteworthy stories we have been following this week.
Nordic payments firm Nets agrees merger with German rival
Nets and Concordis to merge as the European payments industry continues to consolidate.
https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/nordic-payments-firm-nets-agrees-merger-with-german-rival-20180604
Ripple and Swift slug it out over cross-border payments
More than 100 banks have signed up with Ripple for cross-border payments.
https://www.ft.com/content/631af8cc-47cc-11e8-8c77-ff51caedcde6
Dutch payments firm Adyen valued at up to $8.3 bln in IPO
Adyen targeting a $1 billion IPO at a $8.3 billion valuation.
Payment Platform Marqeta Raises $45 Million From Goldman, Iconiq
Marqeta raises $45 million from Goldman Sachs and Iconiq.
SEC Appoints New Crypto Chief to Oversee Digital Assets and ICOs
The SEC appointed Valerie Szczepanik as its associate director of the Division of Corporation Finance and the senior adviser for digital assets and innovation.
http://fortune.com/2018/06/05/sec-crypto-chief-valerie-szczepanik/
Consumer Credit Growth Slowed in April
Consumer credit increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.9% in April to $3.88 trillion.
https://bankingjournal.aba.com/2018/06/consumer-credit-growth-slowed-in-april-2/
Mastercard Wins Patent for Blockchain Travel Itinerary Bidding System
Mastercard has won a patent for a blockchain system that allows travelers to submit desired itineraries and merchants to submit bids for each service request.
https://www.ccn.com/mastercard-wins-patent-for-blockchain-travel-itinerary-bidding-system/
Flexiti acquires TD Financing card portfolio
Flexiti announced the acquisition of TD Financing Services’ (TDFS) Canadian private label credit card portfolio valued at approximately $250 million.
https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/74259/flexiti-acquires-td-financing-card-portfolio
Goldman Sachs rolls out cyber war games suite
Goldman Sachs is to provide its 8000+ developer community with a gamified cybersecurity training programme addressing attacker psychology, digital countermeasures and breach response.
https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/32226/goldman-sachs-rolls-out-cyber-war-games-suite
For fintech to walk beside AI, ask the stupid questions
Artificial intelligence works best when it augments rather than replaces humans.
https://www.ft.com/content/cbe4d148-6a3b-11e8-b6eb-4acfcfb08c11
