SXSW 2021 Pitch Winners Announced

“What is your customer acquisition strategy?” is a typical question for startups. And many of the 40 companies pitching in eight categories during the 13th annual SXSW Pitch Event showed they had a clear roadmap for attracting ideal customers to grow their businesses.

Read More

Caesar Sengupta, Google’s head of payments, to leave for ‘new mission’ next month

Google’s head of payments says he’s leaving the company for a yet-to-be-announced “new mission.” His last day at the company is April 30.

Read More

Fintech pioneer Mint poised for major upgrade

Mint, one of the first personal finance aggregators, is updating its client experience and adding support for new offerings thanks to parent company Intuit’s Credit Karma acquisition and a new team.

Read More

Morgan Stanley gives wealthy clients access to bitcoin funds

In the latest move by a traditional finance player recognizing bitcoin as an asset class, banking and investing giant Morgan Stanley this week said it’s going to offer wealthy clients access to three funds that will enable exposure to bitcoin.

Read More

Card startup Ramp poaches Stripe executive Colin Kennedy

As Stripe reaches a $95B valuation, its talent is being sought out by newer startups looking to scale. This week, Ramp, a two-year-old corporate card startup, hired Colin Kennedy, Stripe’s former global head of partnerships, as its chief business officer.

Read More

Tide moves toward law professor Mehrsa Baradaran as Biden OCC pick

Early this year, it seemed all but certain that the Biden administration would nominate Obama-era Treasury official Michael Barr to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

Read More

BlueVine taps ex-LendingClub president Steve Allocca as COO

Small business lender BlueVine has hired Steve Allocca, former president of LendingClub, as the company’s first chief operating officer.

Read More

Insurtech RecovX Health files patents for direct-to-consumer claims app

RecovX Health, a Sarasota-based insurtech company, has filed a series of patents for a claims app called InjuryClaimsExpress.

Read More

Neobanks let customers jump queue with early stimulus payouts

With the approval of the coronavirus relief package, consumers anxiously await their stimulus deposits, an area where digital-only banking startups are pulling ahead of incumbent players.

Read More

Stripe eyes acquisitions as it secures mammoth $600M fund raise

Stripe, a company whose tools allow merchants to accept payments, says it’s growing its European operations amid a $600M Series H fund raise.

Read More

CFPB to enforce lending protections for LGBTQ customers

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) this week issued an interpretive rule clarifying that it will enforce a federal ban on sex discrimination in lending practices, which also applies to cases where discrimination is claimed on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Read More

Not junk mail: As Covid relief bill passes, many will receive MetaBank-issued cards

While the bulk of stimulus payment cards are going out through direct deposit, a significant number will be sent via MetaBank-issued prepaid cards.

Read More

Green Check Verified rolls out anti-money-laundering toolset for cannabis-focused banks

Green Check Verified, a company that offers cannabis banking software and service solutions, today launched a suite of account monitoring and compliance tools to enable institutions to meet regulatory requirements more efficiently.

Read More

Banks add accidental payments wording in debt documents to hedge risks

Amid fallout from Citi’s (expensive) payment mistake in which it accidentally transferred $900M to Revlon lenders and lost a legal battle to recoup it, banks are inserting wording into debt documents to protect themselves.

Read More

SoFi buys bank to speed up bank charter journey

In an apparent move to secure a bank charter as soon as possible fintech SoFi acquired California’s Golden Pacific Bancorp for $22.3M. SoFi offers banking, lending, and investing products.

Read More