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☆ Fintech nightmare: 'I have nearly $38,000 tied up' after Synapse bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The situation deteriorated in April after Synapse declared bankruptcy following the exodus of several key partners. That has left users of several fintech services stranded with no access to their funds, according to testimonials filed this week in a California bankruptcy court. One customer, a Maryland teacher named Chris Buckler, said in a May 21 filing that his funds at crypto app Juno were locked because of the Synapse bankruptcy. Synapse had contracts with 20 banks and 100 fintech companies, resulting in about 10 million end users, according to an April filing from founder and CEO Sankaet Pathak. The freeze-up of customer funds exposes the vulnerabilities in the banking as a service, or BAAS, partnership model and a possible blind spot for regulatory oversight.

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Chris Buckler, Buckler, Dave, Juno, Sankaet Pathak, Pathak, Joseph Dominguez, Dominguez, Jason Mikula, Mikula Organizations: Istock, Synapse, Evolve Bank & Trust, Mercury, CNBC, Evolve Bank, Trust, Regulators, FDIC, Federal Reserve Locations: California, Maryland, Joseph Dominguez of Sacramento , California, Silicon

At stake is the role of a wide spectrum of players, from fintech firms to card companies and established banks. Walmart's Fintech startup One is now offering BNPL loans in Secaucus, New Jersey. Buy now, pay later has gained popularity with consumers for everyday items as well as larger purchases. A Capital One Walmart credit card sign is seen at a store in Mountain View, California, United States on Tuesday, November 19, 2019. Meanwhile, Walmart said last year when its lawsuit became public that it would soon announce a new credit card option with "meaningful benefits and rewards."

Persons: Joe Raedle, Goldman Sachs, Omer Ismail, Hugh Son, BNPL, Jason Mikula, Amazon's, Karma, John Furner, John David Rainey, Dot, " Rainey, Rainey, Morgan Stanley, Walmart's, Yichuan Cao Organizations: Walmart, Getty, CNBC, New Jersey Walmart, Apple, Electronics, Adobe Analytics, Bank of Walmart, Robinhood, Walmart U.S, Coastal Community Bank, Capital, PayPal Locations: Hallandale Beach , Florida, Bentonville , Arkansas, Manhattan, Secaucus , New Jersey, New Jersey, U.S, Mountain View , California, United States

☆ Elon Musk's potential plan for turning Twitter into a super app is an uphill battle. These are the 3 biggest things holding the strategy back, according to experts.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

And while he's never publically detailed specific plans for a super app, recent changes at Twitter offer some clues. He first teased his intentions to transform Twitter into a super app called "X" prior to acquiring it in October 2022. It 'makes no sense' to build on TwitterFor starters, Twitter is a peculiar place to build a super app, some experts said. A super app in the US is difficultPerhaps a bigger issue not specific to Musk's plans for Twitter is whether a super app in the US is even possible. So if anyone can build a super app in the US, it would be him.

☆ Elon Musk's everything app could include Twitter. But industry experts can't make sense of the strategy.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Elon Musk wants to create a US super app, but industry experts have some concerns. And while he's never publically detailed specific plans for a super app, recent changes at Twitter offer some clues. He first teased his intentions to transform Twitter into a super app called "X" prior to acquiring it in October 2022. It 'makes no sense' to build on TwitterFor starters, Twitter is a peculiar place to build a super app, some experts said. A super app in the US is difficultPerhaps a bigger issue not specific to Musk's plans for Twitter is whether a super app in the US is even possible.

☆ 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.

☆ Potential buyers are leveraging high-profile blowups like Frank and FTX to get better terms. Insiders detail how dealmaking is changing in 2023.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Paige Hagy | Bianca Chan | Carter Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

We don't want to look like JPMorgan,'" Jason Mikula, fintech analyst and writer behind Fintech Business Weekly, told Insider. How closely they adhere to it matters greatly in terms of if a deal is on the line," Mandelbaum told Insider. Investors pumped $132 billion globally into fintechs in 2021 and there were more than 900 fintech M&A exits, according to CB Insights. "It's now a buyer's market," Rob Brown, CEO of Lincoln International, a global investment-banking advisory firm, told Insider. One way companies might optimize the due-diligence process without cutting corners is by leaning on machines to help with the heavy lifting.

☆ The dealmaking boom meant fast timelines and loose due diligence. But high-profile implosions like FTX and Frank mean would-be sellers can expect more scrutiny, insiders say.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Paige Hagy | Bianca Chan | Carter Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

☆ Google and Amazon are two of the biggest poachers of Goldman's tech talent. We mapped out the top 10 firms snapping up the bank's recent departures.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Bianca Chan | Carter Johnson | Dakin Campbell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Amazon was the biggest poacher of Goldman tech talent from June to August. The organization tracked the LinkedIn profiles of people who left Goldman Sachs and picked up another job from June through August. Wall Street's tech hiring ambitions ramp up as tech powerhouses and startups pull backNonetheless, the demand for tech talent on Wall Street has remained strong. JPMorgan, the biggest beneficiary of the departures, hired 18 former Goldman Sachs employees. Citi and Morgan Stanley were also among the top poachers of Goldman talent, with the firms both scooping up 12 Goldman employees each.

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