April 17, 2020 @ 9:05 am By JD Alois  |  

This is interesting because it is indicative of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally approved Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) investment in Deliveroo. Before the Coronavirus, the investment was not a given as the CMA was “concerned that… Read More

April 17, 2020 @ 7:59 am By JD Alois  |  

Hannah Nixon, the former CEO of the UK Payment Systems Regulator, has been hired by Curve as an Advisor to the Executive, according to a note from the Fintech. Nixon is expected to help guide Curve’s regulatory strategy as the company grows. Curve is a… Read More

April 16, 2020 @ 9:12 pm By JD Alois  |  

The fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the consumer lending market should come as no surprise to anyone. As the jobless rate has jumped, borrowers are having to make difficult decisions as their income has tanked. Now we have some solid data provided by… Read More

April 16, 2020 @ 4:47 pm By JD Alois  |  

Benchmarking Study Tallies $304.5 Billion in Alternative Finance Transaction Volumes During 2018 The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), part of the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, has published the single most comprehensive report on the evolution of alternative finance. The benchmarking report provides… Read More

April 16, 2020 @ 2:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed fraud charges against Alan Friedland and his companies, Fintech Investment Group, Inc. and Compcoin LLC. The CFTC claims that Friedland and his Florida based firms fraudulently solicited over $1.6 million in connection with a leveraged or margined… Read More

April 16, 2020 @ 12:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

The National Crowdfunding and Fintech Association of Canada (NCFA) has published an open letter demanding the Canadian government to engage and leverage Fintechs to help in the battler against the COVID-19 crisis. Addressed to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, along with several of his Ministers,… Read More

April 16, 2020 @ 11:01 am By JD Alois  |  

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has distributed a statement on Libra’s application for a “payment system license.” Initiated by Facebook, Libra is a digital currency attempting to facilitate payments globally outside of the traditional payments rails. The Libra Association is headquartered in Geneva,… Read More

April 16, 2020 @ 10:34 am By JD Alois  |  

The Libra Association, Facebook’s push to create a global non-sovereign digital currency, is applying for a Payment System License from the Financial Markets Supervisory Authority (FINMA) in Switzerland. In addition to applying for the FINMA license and updating the white paper, the Libra Foundation reports… Read More

April 16, 2020 @ 9:50 am By JD Alois  |  

Digital currency, like Bitcoin, CBDCs or stablecoins, will get a boost from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The report, conducted during January and February, was sponsored by crypto.com. The EIU consulted with Eva Julin, deputy head general… Read More

April 16, 2020 @ 9:16 am By JD Alois  |  

Varengold Bank (VdK), a marketplace bank that is focused on Fintech, has joined the Association of German Credit Platforms. The credit institute based in Hamburg focuses on the business of financing online lending marketplaces and thus aligns with the Varengold. This is the first inclusion… Read More

April 16, 2020 @ 8:59 am By JD Alois  |  

Peer to peer lending platform Robo.cash has distributed the results of a survey of European P2P investors inquiring about their financial results in 2019. Robo.cash reports that over half (52.8%) of the participants said that the alternative lending brought them the highest returns during 2019…. Read More

April 16, 2020 @ 8:09 am By JD Alois  |  

Transfer Platform Sees Uptick in Users During Month of March WorldRemit, a global payments and money transfer platform, is donating £400,000 worth of vouchers for money transfers to NHS workers. According to WorldRemit, the move is to thank the health service workers during the COVID-19… Read More

April 15, 2020 @ 11:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

Necessity is the mother of invention. This we know. Sportsbet, an Australian online bookmaker, saw betting tank just like most other businesses as the COVID-19 pandemic spread. At the end of March Stuart Allott, Sportsbet head of corporate affairs, told BI Australia: “Given the unprecedented… Read More

April 15, 2020 @ 10:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

The European Commission DG FISMA (The Directorate‑General for Financial Stability, Financial Services, and Capital Markets Union is the Commission department responsible for EU policy on banking and finance) has scheduled a series of virtual roundtables tackling Fintech topics. The series is an outreach program that… Read More

April 15, 2020 @ 7:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is out with an ominous note predicting a rise in cryptocurrency-related scams fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic. The FBI expects that the bad guys will take advantage of the FUD to steal your money and then launder it through the… Read More

April 15, 2020 @ 5:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

This month, the European Commission kicked off a consultation on the future of digital finance and Fintech. Simultaneously a consultation on payments was announced. The Fintech consultation opens by explaining the following: “Digitalisation is transforming the European financial system and the provision of financial services… Read More

April 15, 2020 @ 3:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Special Purpose Vehicles or “SPVs” have long been requested by FINRA regulated platforms participating in the Reg CF sector of crowdfunding. Under current rules, SPVs are not allowed to be utilized. This may soon change as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed enabling… Read More

April 15, 2020 @ 2:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

OnDeck (NYSE: ONDK), an online SME lender, has been approved as a Small Business Administration (SBA) lender to facilitate the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), part of the CARES Act Coronavirus assistance program. Under the PPP, OnDeck will be processing and servicing loans on behalf of… Read More

April 15, 2020 @ 12:45 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), one of the elements of the CARES Act designed to help the US SME sector that has been demolished by the COVID-19 pandemic, has been lauded in its intent but criticized in its execution. Confusion continues as banks struggle to… Read More

April 15, 2020 @ 10:28 am By JD Alois  |  

The three largest European digital banks have over 18 million registered users combined. That number is predicted to soar to over 23 million by the end of this year, according to a writeup by Finanso. Today, Revolut (UK) is the biggest at over 10 million… Read More