Banking platform aims to close racial gaps in business
/
Guava, a banking platform for Black business owners, announced a $2.4M pre-seed round led by Heron Rock. Guava will officially launch in 2023.
Read More
Fintech News Stories
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.
Read MoreCFPB 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.
Read MoreTech giants may trigger economic fears across sectors
/
Google announced that it paused hiring for two weeks, stating the need “to enable teams to prioritize their roles.” Other major tech companies have also announced layoffs; Netflix, for example, has fired more than 450 employees since May.
Read MoreZillow faces another lawsuit for botched house-flipping business
/
Last week, investors in Zillow filed a lawsuit against the Seattle-based proptech giant on the grounds that it made “false and misleading statements” about Zillow Offers, its house-flipping project. This is the sixth investor lawsuit filed since Zillow shuttered the unprofitable initiative.
Read MoreWill Fidelity’s Bitcoin 401(k) plans gain traction?
/
Fidelity Investments announced that it’s launching employer-sponsored 401(k) plans that invest in Bitcoin. Fidelity administers retirement plans for approximately 23,000 businesses and manages over $11T in assets.
Read MoreIs 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.
Read MoreMeta eyes Instagram payments as gateway to metaverse
/
Meta, the parent company to Facebook and Instagram, announced the launch of its cross-platform payments system, Meta Pay, on Instagram. Meta said that 1 billion users message a business on one of its apps every week.
Read MoreAre we seeing the rise of subscription-driven healthcare?
/
Amazon announced that it’s acquiring 1LifeHealthcare Inc., the parent company of primary-care network One Medical, for $3.9B. The health practice has 180 offices and offers benefits to employees at more than 8,000 companies.
Read MoreHow fintechs can leverage outsourced customer support for more than cost savings
/
In an interview with The Financial Revolutionist, Ubiquity COO and Co-Founder Sagar Rajgopal describes the bidirectional benefits of outsourcing, provides examples of the insights customer-experience experts can offer fintechs, and outlines the future of outsourcing in the face of volatility.
Read MoreHow Celsius and Voyager can shape the future of crypto
/
Cryptocurrency trading firms Celsius and Voyager Digital crashed earlier this month, trapping clients' funds within their platforms. Voyager’s financials are unknown, but Celsius has $167M in cash on hand to repay over $4.7B in customer deposits.
Read MoreAfrica-based fintechs discontinue virtual dollar card services due to fraud
/
Flutterwave, Eversend, and other Africa-based fintechs discontinued use of virtual dollar cards due to the processor’s susceptibility to fraud. Scammers could contact the card issuer and fraudulently claim that they never made specific purchases.
Read MoreStarling scraps European banking plans
/
Starling, the UK-based challenger bank, withdrew its application for a European banking license four years after its initial application to the Irish Central Bank. The bank is now eyeing growth through its banking software subsidiary, Engine, and by expanding its lending initiatives.
Read MoreWhat’s behind Putin’s digital-asset payments ban?
/
On July 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law that bans the use of digital assets like NFTs and cryptocurrencies to pay for goods and services within the country. It is still legal to trade, buy, and sell those assets.
Read MoreWith interest rates on the rise, some fintechs offer smoke and mirrors
/
Over the past twelve months, the average interest rate for a savings account has risen from .06% to .1%. Fintechs like Save and Fair are offering “alternative” savings accounts with supposed annual yields around 4%.
Read More
