Growth through alt data and compliance with Cowbell

Growth through alt data and compliance with Cowbell

In a conversation with The Financial Revolutionist, Cowbell Chief Strategy Officer Matthew Jones describes Cowbell’s bread and butter, compares their regulatory obligations to those of B2C insurtechs, and considers the future of insurance and security.

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Hurricane Ian and the future of property insurance

Hurricane Ian and the future of property insurance

Rampant roofing scams have caused a property-insurance crisis in Florida. The industry’s net losses in the state were more than $1B in 2021.

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Marcus is in the Fed’s crosshairs

Marcus is in the Fed’s crosshairs

Anonymous sources say the Federal Reserve is investigating Marcus, Goldman Sachs’s consumer-banking branch. This follows a probe by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) last month into Marcus’s credit card practices.

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CFPB eyes tighter BNPL regulation in new report

CFPB eyes tighter BNPL regulation in new report

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a new report to expand "interpretive guidance or rules" related to the BNPL space. The CPFB hopes to align the industry with compliance standards introduced in the Credit Card Accountability and Responsibility Act of 2009.

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Will payments tech let Russia overcome SWIFT exclusion?

Will payments tech let Russia overcome SWIFT exclusion?

VTB, a Russia-based state-controlled bank with $280B in assets, began supporting transfers to China in yuan. Purchases of yuan in Russia have increased by 800% this year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and ensuing sanctions.

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With EY’s breakup in sight, will other firms follow suit?

With EY’s breakup in sight, will other firms follow suit?

Partners at accounting giant Ernst & Young are expected to approve a split of the company’s auditing and consulting businesses. The audit-focused company would retain the EY brand.

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Home equity loans are back on the rise

Home equity loans are back on the rise

Lenders originated more than $100B in home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) in the first five months of 2022. This represents a 50% increase over the same period in 2021.

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Learning from Three Arrows Capital's collapse

Learning from Three Arrows Capital's collapse

Three Arrows Capital (3AC), a Singapore-based crypto hedge fund, filed for bankruptcy in July 2022. It owed more than $2.8B to creditors at the time it went bust, and is widely blamed for fueling the collapse of the crypto ecosystem.

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Making sense of UBS’s cancelled Wealthfront acquisition

Making sense of UBS’s cancelled Wealthfront acquisition

On Friday, UBS announced that it had called off its acquisition of Wealthfront. UBS had been slated to purchase the robo-adviser for $1.4B.

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Bank branch closings are slowing down. What does that mean for fintech?

Bank branch closings are slowing down. What does that mean for fintech?

US banks have closed 1,261 branches during the first six months of 2022. If closures continue at the same pace over the rest of the year, then this rate will represent a 15% decline compared to 2021.

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Making sense of Texas’ war on ESG

Making sense of Texas’ war on ESG

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced a list of ten financial firms that are now banned from doing business with state entities in Texas. Hegar said those firms, which include BlackRock, Credit Suisse, UBS, and BNP Paribas, “boycott” the fossil fuel sector, which is illegal under a 2021 Texas state law.

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Could US regulators look to India for financial privacy rules?

Could US regulators look to India for financial privacy rules?

In a new report, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said consumers may be vulnerable to payment and lending apps that monetize users’ behavioral and spending data. The Bureau said it is planning to draft regulations to protect consumers’ financial data rights.

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Balancing globalization and compliance with Episode Six

Balancing globalization and compliance with Episode Six

After interviewing the Episode Six founding team in 2020, The Financial Revolutionist sat down with CEO John Mitchell, revisiting Episode Six’s strategies and predictions for the future. Mitchell outlines the company’s steady course, shares the vision behind their business model, and hints at the future of hybridized, digital payments ecosystems.

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CFPB sets sights on Apple Pay Later

CFPB sets sights on Apple Pay Later

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra said that Big Tech’s expansion into the BNPL space raises privacy and antitrust issues. To date, Apple is the only tech giant to launch a BNPL product, which is called Apple Pay Later.

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Is P2P fraud approaching a turning point?

Is P2P fraud approaching a turning point?

In a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra, Democratic lawmakers asked Chopra to clarify whether consumers who are defrauded into making a financial transfer on peer-to-peer (P2P) payment apps like Zelle are “errors” or “unauthorized electronic fund transfers.” This shift could make financial institutions liable for repaying consumers who have fallen victim to fraud on P2P platforms.

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