Friday May 10, 2019 –
Here are the new and noteworthy stories we have been following this week.
Thunes raises $10M to make financial services more accessible in emerging markets
Singapore based Thunes, a B2B payments company that helps businesses facilitate payments for consumers raised a $10 million Series A round led by GGV Capital.
https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/05/thunes-raises-10m/
Japan’s SoftBank taps into Mexican fintech startup Clip
Softbank has invested $20 million in Mexican payments startup Clip as part of a $100 million funding round.
Brazil fintech Nubank opens Mexico office as it seeks Latam expansion
Brazilian fintech startup Nubank is expanding to Mexico and plans to start issuing credit cards later this year targeting the unbanked segment.
U.S. consumer credit grows $10.3 billion in March, down from $15.4 billion in February
Consumer credit growth slowed in March, but for the quarter total consumer borrowings increased almost $43 billion to $4.05 trillion.
Citi Wants to Bring Credit Card Perks Like Miles to Bank Accounts
Citi is getting ready to expand its credit cards rewards programs to encourage its credit cardholders to add additional Citi products and services and bring in new deposits.
San Francisco to ban cashless stores, saying refusing cash harms the poor
San Francisco is working on legislation to ban cashless stores joining New Jersey and Philadelphia in a move designed to ensure financial inclusion and support for cash-intensive population groups.
Fig Loans Becomes First FinTech to receive CDFI and B Corp Certifications
Fig Loans which helps working class Americans rebuild their credit has become the first fintech company to receive both B Corporation and Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) certifications.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fig-loans-becomes-first-fintech-150500039.html
Green Dot Reports First Quarter 2019 Results
Green Dot reported generally soft Q1 results but is bullish on its Product and Platform plan and has announced a $60 million investment in its Banking-as-a-Service strategy and platform.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/green-dot-reports-first-quarter-201200675.html
Amazon just launched a lending service in China while shuttering its local marketplace
Amazon has launched a lending referral service in China that connects Chinese merchants (selling on Amazon’s marketplace) with local lenders.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/08/amazon-launched-lending-referral-program-in-china.html
Bank of America Considers Scrapping First Data Payments Partnership
Bank of America is reportedly considering dissolving its merchant acquiring-processing business venture with First Data.
ACI Worldwide Unveils New Mobile Wallet Payment and Loyalty Capabilities
ACI is leveraging Walletron’s technology and functionality to allow consumers to view bills from their Apple Wallet or Google Pay and make payments from their smartphones.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/aci-worldwide-unveils-mobile-wallet-100200613.html
US Congress launches fintech and AI task forces
The US House of Representative is launching task forces looking into fintech and artificial intelligence in financial services.
https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/33803/us-congress-launches-fintech-and-ai-task-forces
