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☆ Goldman-backed Starling says no plans to pursue EU bank license, expansion to come from software
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The company sought to expand abroad by applying for an Irish banking license, which would have given the bank access to the European Union market. AMSTERDAM — Digital bank Starling will not re-apply for a European Union banking license and instead pursue international expansion through its software business, the incoming CEO said, in a diverging approach to overseas growth from some of its rivals. Raman Bhatia outlined the company's international expansion plans on Wednesday, in his first public remarks since his appointment as CEO in March, taking over from founder Anne Boden. Bhatia said that the company has no plans to re-apply for the EU banking license to push into new countries. Instead, international expansion will be driven by Engine, a software platform that Starling sells to other companies, so they can set up their own digital banks.

Persons: Raman Bhatia, Starling, Bhatia, Goldman Sachs, Anne Boden Organizations: OVO Energy Ltd, European Union, AMSTERDAM —, CNBC, Salt Bank, AMP Locations: AMSTERDAM, Thailand, Salt, Romania, Australia

☆ Monzo: 2024 CNBC Disruptor 50
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Cnbc.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

As a digital-only bank, Monzo operates entirely within a mobile app. In September, the company partnered with BlackRock , the asset management giant, to offer three funds to Monzo customers. Founded in 2015, it has more than nine million customers, making it the largest digital bank in the U.K. and the seventh largest U.K. bank by customers. In March, Monzo raised $430 million in a new round of funding led by CapitalG, the venture arm of Alphabet. It appointed Conor Walsh, a former executive at Block's Cash App division, as the CEO at Monzo U.S. in October.

Persons: Monzo, neobanks, Starling, —, CapitalG, Conor Walsh, Anil Organizations: BlackRock, Starling Bank, Zopa, Sutton Bank, Monzo, Financial Times Locations: Monzo, U.S

☆ British neobank Monzo boosts funding round to $610 million to crack U.S. market, launch pensions
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

MonzoBritish neobank Monzo said Wednesday that it's raised another $190 million, lifting the total it's raised so far this year to $610 million. Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC also participated in Monzo's latest fundraise, a source familiar with the matter told CNBC. The total $610 million round marks the single-biggest funding round for a European fintech in the past year, according to Dealroom data. "What I like about how we're approaching this is, at the heart of it, it's not just words," Anil told CNBC in an exclusive interview Tuesday. European expansion is also on the cards, Anil said, although he didn't commit to a date for when this will happen.

Persons: Anil, Monzo, it's, GIC, we've, Monzo's, Revolut Organizations: CNBC, Hedosophia, Barclays, NatWest, BlackRock, JPMorgan, Citibank Locations: U.S, Berlin

☆ Spektr, a compliance and due diligence fintech startup, just raised $5.4 million with this 13-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Danish compliance startup Spektr has raised $5.4 million in seed funding. The company, set up by the founders of HelloFlow, has emerged from stealth. The company plans to use the funding to grow its team and begin to expand into the US. Spektr, a fintech startup that helps companies with compliance, has raised $5.4 million. The Copenhagen-based startup is emerging from stealth and aims to improve the client onboarding experience for companies.

Persons: Spektr, Mikkel Skarnager Organizations: HelloFlow, Business Locations: Copenhagen

☆ 6 venture investors spotlight the fintechs that could soar in 2024 amid another tough year for startups
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Fintech has shown few signs of recovering in 2024 as funding declines and layoffs continue. VCs said they want to pick up deals this year in AI and cost-management tools for software. Investors digging for deals in the fintech industry are zeroing in on a few pockets of resilience. Venture funding to financial-technology startups fell by 50% in 2023 from 2022, according to CB Insights. Only one month into 2024, fintech layoffs have been abound.

Persons: Fintech, VCs, Jack Dorsey's Block Organizations: PayPal, Business Locations: Brex

☆ Best High-Yield Savings Accounts for October 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Martha C. White | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +18 min

With the Federal Reserve steadily raising interest rates to fight inflation, high-yield savings account payouts have steadily risen, too. After years of near-zero returns, the average savings account rate has risen to 0.45%, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Their new High-Yield Savings account offers a 3.5% APY, but you need a hefty $5,000 deposit to open the account. Unlike some high-yield online savings accounts, you earn a high APY—currently 5%—on every dollar in your account. You can conduct immediate electronic transfers between your brokerage account and savings account, and manage both savings and investment activities on a single platform.

Persons: Martha C, it’s, JPMorgan Chase, Wells, Wells Fargo, Ally, Synchrony, UFB, —, Achilles, We’ve, Foster, Alliant, Morgan Stanley, Marcus, Goldman Sachs, Charles Schwab, Charles Schwab Bank Charles Schwab Organizations: Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, Capital, National, One’s, JPMorgan, JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase &, Chase Savings, Ally, Synchrony, CIT, First Citizens, Bank, Axos Bank, Webster Bank, National Bank, Zelle, Alliance Data Systems, Comenity Capital Bank, FDIC, Foster Care, Navy, Navy Federal, Savings, Morgan Stanley Private, Morgan Stanley Private Bank, Bloomberg, Trade, Charles, Charles Schwab Bank, Best Bank, National Credit Union Administration, dateline Locations: Chase, Zelle, Ally’s, Utah, Chicago, U.S, .

☆ Britain's $4.5 billion digital bank Monzo debuts investments feature
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

MonzoMonzo, the $4.5 billion digital challenger bank, launched a feature that lets users make investments —marking its first foray into the massive financial investment market. Monzo Investments will allow users to start investing with as little as £1. With Monzo Investments, you can start from £1." MonzoThe investments pots feature will appear in a new part of the home screen on Monzo called Savings & Investments. Gautam Pillai, head of fintech research at the investment bank Peel Hunt, said Monzo's new investments feature could increase customer "stickiness."

Persons: Anil, Monzo Monzo, It's, Monzo, who've, they'll, Monzo's, they've, Zopa, Wise, we've, Gautam Pillai, Peel Hunt, Pillai Organizations: Investments, BlackRock, CNBC, Monzo, Monzo Investments, Savings, Starling Locations: Britain

☆ Ripple buys crypto infrastructure startup in its second acquisition of 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Founded in 2021 by Scott Purcell, an entrepreneur with a background in equity and debt crowdfunding, Fortress Trust aims to help large enterprises interact with digital currencies. The company uses a blockchain-based messaging system, akin to SWIFT, to approve speedy transactions between a network of banks and other financial institutions. A Ripple spokesperson declined to comment on the size of the deal but said that it is less than the sum Ripple paid to buy Metaco. Ripple also obtained a Nevada trust with its acquisition of Fortress Trust, adding to its growing list of regulatory permits globally. The company told CNBC previously it was also looking to get an e-money license with the Irish central bank.

Persons: Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple, Scott Purcell, Purcell, BitGo, SWIFT, Britain's, Singapore's, XRP, Stu Alderoty Organizations: Trust, Prime Trust, SBI, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, MoneyGram, CNBC, Monetary Authority of, Fortress Trust Locations: Austin , Texas, Nevada, U.S, Swiss, Fortress Trust's, York, New York, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Irish

☆ Best High-Yield Savings Accounts of September 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Martha C. White | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +18 min

With the Federal Reserve steadily raising interest rates to fight inflation, high-yield savings account payouts have steadily risen, too. After years of near-zero returns, the average savings account rate has risen to 0.43%, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Unlike some high-yield online savings accounts, you earn a high APY—currently 5%—on every dollar in your account. You can conduct immediate electronic transfers between your brokerage account and savings account, and manage both savings and investment activities on a single platform. How we pickedTo pick Buy Side from WSJ’s Best Savings Accounts, we looked for accounts that offered the best APY on deposited funds without restrictions.

Persons: Martha C, it’s, JPMorgan Chase, Wells, Wells Fargo, Ally, Synchrony, Foster, Alliant, —, Ivy, Achilles, We’ve, Morgan Stanley, Marcus, Goldman Sachs, Charles Schwab, Charles Schwab Bank Charles Schwab Organizations: Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, Capital, National, One’s, JPMorgan, JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase &, Chase Savings, Ally, Synchrony, CIT, First Citizens, Bank, Foster Care, Navy, Navy Federal, Bask Bank, Texas Capital Bank, Savings, LendingClub, Alliance Data Systems, Comenity Capital Bank, FDIC, Morgan Stanley Private, Morgan Stanley Private Bank, Bloomberg, Trade, Charles, Charles Schwab Bank, Best Bank, National Credit Union Administration, dateline Locations: Chase, Zelle, Ally’s, Chicago, U.S, Utah, .

☆ Fintech VCs are readying their checkbooks as cash-strapped startup founders run out of options
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Fintech funding has been on a decline from 2021's peak levels, but VCs see signs of a rebound. VCs are itching to get back to dealmaking as they see early signs of a rebound in the fintech industry. Cash-strapped founders who didn't want to fundraise in a down market and get valuations slashed are running out of options and time. They dominated the fintech market in the past several years, but the shine is wearing off, Shriner said. Fintech VCs will get to spend more time on due diligence, looking beyond so-called "vanity metrics," Fernandez said.

Persons: Cash, didn't, Mark Peter Davis, Davis, We're, Tripp Shriner, Robert Ruark, Ruark, B2C, VCs, Shriner, — crowdedness, Stephanie Choo, Marcos Fernandez, KPMG's Ruark, Fintech, Fernandez Organizations: Interplay, Investors, Point72 Ventures, KPMG, Tiger, Portage Ventures, Fiat Ventures Locations: dealmaking, VCs, overvaluations

Da Ponte denied a Bloomberg report that the payments processor paused development of its stablecoin in February. But da Ponte argues this troubled backdrop is exactly why PayPal is poised to succeed. Then there's the hypothetical digital dollar that would be the Fed's take on a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. "We have a large base of consumers; we have a large base of merchants," da Ponte said of PayPal's "two-sided network." Da Ponte sees PayPal's more than 20-year tenure in the payments space as one of the company's chief advantages in the stablecoin market.

Persons: Jose Fernandez da Ponte, PayPal's, Da Ponte, Paxos, it's, Ponte, stablecoins, Nic Carter, Stablecoins, Carter, Andy Bromberg, Andreessen Horowitz, Bromberg, PYUSD, Jeremy Allaire, Allaire, Patrick McHenry, McHenry Organizations: PayPal, CNBC, Bloomberg, SEC, New, Regulators, Valley Bank, U.S ., U.S, Castle, Ventures, Companies, Eco, Coinbase Ventures, Paypal, Facebook, Financial Services, America Locations: U.S, New York, Bromberg, web3, United States, R, DexTools

☆ From banking giants to lending up-and-comers — here are the world's top 200 fintech companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Statista identified 40 firms as top digital payments companies. While digital payments is often the area that draws most investor buzz, lending generates more money in financial services. Statista identified 25 fintech companies that fall into the category of top alternate lending firms. They include American small business lending firm Biz2Credit, Irish e-commerce lending company Wayflyer, and Latvian loan refinancing startup Mintos. Digital business solutions

Persons: Monzo, there's, Statista, Afterpay, It's, Binance, eToro, Equity crowdfunding, hasn't, Peter Hazlehurst Organizations: JPMorgan —, Orange, Digital, U.S, SEC, European, Education, Equity, Republic, Tech, Federal Reserve, Bank of England, CNBC, Solaris Locations: fintech, Europe, Nigeria, Orange, Africa, Terra, U.S, Cayman Islands, American, Latvian, U.K

☆ Here's the 14-page pitch deck a startup helping people build credit through rental payments used to raise $4.5 million from Clocktower VC and Plaid's cofounders
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Boom is a startup that helps people build credit by reporting rent payments to credit bureaus. The startup raised $4.5 million in a seed round led by Starting Line. "I started helping them on their housing, find a new rental, build credit, get things removed from their credit report, access rental assistance, things like that," Whiting told Insider. That's when the lightbulb went off to start Boom, a startup that helps people build credit by reporting their rent payments to credit bureaus. Here's the 14-page pitch deck Boom used to raise its $4.5 million seed.

Persons: Rob Whiting, Whiting, Kirill Moizik, helms, Boom . Whiting, Moizik, Boom, Plaid's cofounders Zach Perret, William Hockey Organizations: Boston Consulting Group, Clocktower

☆ High-stakes game of keeping secrets on Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Citadel Securities' trading strategies? Look no further than a recently filed lawsuit by Citadel Securities against two former employees, per Bloomberg. The suit, which you can read here, alleges the former employees were building a competing high-frequency trading firm while still employed and used trade secrets gained while at Citadel Securities. Portofino told Bloomberg that the Citadel Securities lawsuit was "corporate bullying" and that it would defend itself. On the one hand, trading firms invest a lot of money — check out some salary ranges here — in developing these strategies.

☆ Revolut's US CEO outlined the threat Apple's new high-yield savings account poses to neobanks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The CEO of at least one digital bank is keeping an eye on Apple's new high-yield savings account. The Big Tech giant launched a savings account with a 4.15% annual percentage yield (APY) through its partnership with Goldman Sachs on April 17. In its first four days of launch, it brought in nearly $1 billion in deposits, according to reporting by Forbes. The savings account is only available to people who have Apple Card — Apple's credit card — but the account has no minimum deposit or balance requirement. Apple's savings account beats this average by tenfold.

LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - Britain's digital banks will need support over the next few weeks and months to help them cope with the market fallout from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, a trade body representing UK fintechs said on Friday. A neobank, or digital bank, is a bank whose services are accessed via an app or website as opposed to having physical branches. He said that challenger banks - lenders which are usually smaller and newer than the big high-street banks - in Britain could be at risk. Hirt said that Innovate Finance has been offering "close support" to challenger banks to help them navigate the "turbulence" in the sector. BoE governor Andrew Bailey told lawmakers this week that the central bank was on alert amid the global turmoil, but added that Britain was not experiencing stress linked to the demise of Silicon Valley Bank.

☆ It's becoming increasingly clear that fintech has a fraud problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Bianca Chan | Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

"With fast growth comes fast fraud," Frank McKenna, a longtime fraud expert who works with banks, lenders, and fintechs, told Insider. Cash App only requires a zip code, debit-card number, and either an email or phone number to create an account. Cash App's alleged fraud problem could also be the result of its large, active customer base, which numbers some 44 million, according to the company's 2022 annual report. The fact that Cash App offers peer-to-peer payments exacerbates the fraud issue, according to McKenna, the chief fraud strategist at Point Predictive, an anti-fraud software company. Digital-only bank Chime has had its own issues with fraud, Jason Mikula, a fintech analyst and consultant, told Insider.

☆ Emerging venture fund managers had few banking options to begin with. After Silicon Valley Bank's collapse, where do they turn now?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Melia Russell | Vishal Persaud | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Silicon Valley Bank had long banked a class of startup investors known as emerging managers. He was able to quickly switch from Silicon Valley Bank with an email to his contact at AngelList. Novak is part of a contingent of investors who are shifting their banking strategy in the fallout of Silicon Valley Bank's failure. After Silicon Valley Bank's demise, the big banks have gotten more selective, the three investors said. The big banks like JPMorgan set account minimums for its private banking group, locking out emerging fund managers.

☆ Swiss banking, known for its secrecy, gets put in the spotlight
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Credit Suisse stock plummeted on Wednesday during the bank's largest one-day selloff to date. UBS begrudgingly agreeing to acquire rival Credit Suisse has put Swiss banking on center stage. Credit Suisse has stumbled through its fair share of crises in recent years. The sale of Credit Suisse for $3.2 billion begs the question: What the hell are neobanks worth? If a long-established, albeit beleaguered, investment bank was sold at such a discount, then what could a digital-only consumer bank really go for?

☆ Credit Suisse's $3.2 billion cut-price sale signals an ongoing crisis that could expose unicorn fintechs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The firesale of Credit Suisse to UBS is putting the banking world on high alert. A $54 billion loan from the Swiss National Bank wasn't enough to keep Credit Suisse afloat, and UBS stepped in. Credit Suisse suffered idiosyncratic problems, such as a spying scandal involving former CEO Tidjane Thiam, as well as crises relating to its relationships with hedge fund Archegos Capital and financial group Greensill Capital. "There's already a lot of soul searching about what fintech business models are," says Paul Rolles, an ex-Morgan Stanley managing director and cofounder of money-management service HyperJar. Rolles believes the banking issues of the past couple of weeks are as much about confidence as intrinsic issues.

☆ Investors in venture funds reveal how they felt VCs handled the Silicon Valley Bank fallout: one was privately frustrated, while another was impressed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

After last week's bank run on SVB, many limited partners for VC funds had lots of questions. One LP was unhappy with how VCs in the funds they back handled the SVB crisis. Some LPs are wary of the tech industry's heavy reliance on the bank. But after last week's bank run on Silicon Valley Bank, caused in large part by warnings from several prominent VCs to their portfolio companies to get their money out of the bank, LPs have mixed feelings about how it all went down. "There were a lot of fintech companies in particular, and banking companies that banded together to come up with solutions overnight."

☆ Founders and VCs reveal why they're sticking with the failed Silicon Valley Bank, at least for now: 'We owe them to keep them healthy'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But for some startup customers of the failed Silicon Valley Bank, there's nothing to fix about their banking situation — yet. After Silicon Valley Bank's ultimate failure on March 10, federal regulators stepped to seize control and announced two days later that all depositors would be made whole. But some founders and VCs, like Shaprio, have chosen to stay with their hometown bank. Although their own business' health comes first, for many, the survival of Silicon Valley Bank is crucial, as a long-standing emblem of the tech community and a figure that welcomed risky startups when traditional institutions turned them down. And Silicon Valley Bank, by being there for 40 years, is the hub of this community, it's the thing the most startups have in common.

☆ The unintended consequences of remote work
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

While remote work offers flexibility, it often comes at the cost of maintaining a work-life balance. Remote work has also made it possible to hire anyone anywhere, which CEOs and hiring managers are starting to realize. Tech companies are offshoring jobs, due to America's broken immigration system, and remote work is making it easier. American tech companies are offshoring jobs, but it isn't all because of remote work. He says remote work led to all of this in the first place.

☆ 9 startup founders who banked with Silicon Valley Bank share where they're moving their money: 'We will not get caught like this again'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Samantha Stokes | Stephanie Palazzolo | Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Silicon Valley Bank's failure has left startup founders scrambling for a new home for their money. Last Friday morning, the startup founder Mang-Git Ng zipped up the interstate before sunrise to a Silicon Valley Bank branch in St. Helena, in California's wine country. Ng's plight is similar to countless other founders following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, who waited with bated breath over the weekend on whether they'd ever get their money back. DiversificationSilicon Valley Bank's collapse could forever change how startups stash their cash, at least two investors told Insider. Silicon Valley Bank had exclusivity clauses with some of its clients, according to a CNBC report, forcing them to use the firm for most or all of their banking services.

The sale means UK startups and investors will be able to access their money. Like its US parent, SVB UK mostly served tech startups and their investors. Insider understands from a person close to SVB UK that there is some internal frustration at the bank run. The feeling is that SVB UK was sold off simply because of groupthink. That evening, it looked feasible that the government would allow SVB UK to collapse.

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