Fintech News Issue #271 June 11th, 2020

Switzerland based venture capitalist and fintech expert Spiros Margaris has released the first video interview of his new series @SpirosMargaris & Friends.

Small business owners who sell on the e-commerce giant’s platform will soon be receiving invitations from Goldman’s Marcus brand for revolving credit lines with a fixed annual interest rate of 6.99% to 20.99%, according to people with knowledge of the offering.

Forget fancy apps and metal cards. A new breed of "messenger banks" are breaking onto the scene.

As many parents of adult children do, I recently offered to help my son manage his mortgage application. And, while I was of course delighted to see everything go through in the end, part of me wished I hadn’t got involved. The bank’s processes were ugly and cumbersome, with seemingly endless paperwork, various mobile portals and old-world ways of working squeezed on to digital channels.

Fintechs include any financial tech company that serves any of the following areas; lending, blockchain, Regtech, personal finance, payments and billing, insurance, capital markets, wealth management, money transfer and anything to do with the mortgage process.

As it looks to get regulators onside, the Libra Association has brought in Credit Suisse's head of financial crime compliance, Sterling Daines, as chief compliance officer.

French startup iBanFirst has raised a $23.8 million (€21 million) Series C round from Elaia and Bpifrance’s Large Venture fund.

One reason I, along with many people of color, have found fintech to be especially interesting has to do with its potential — in the right hands — of dramatically increasing financial opportunities for people who have long been underserved in the financial economy.

Many 'unicorn' start-ups are scaling back their plans for 2020 because of financial uncertainties caused by the pandemic

A lot of founders start building one idea and in the process, find another one that is more alluring.

Nearly 40% of new fintech firms to launch in Hong Kong over the past year are operating in the blockchain sector.

Lemonade, a startup that sells insurance to renters and homeowners (not to be confused with the Beyoncé album and film), filed for an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange today, estimating it will raise about $100 million. VCs estimated its current valuation at $2.1 billion, making it another potential unicorn.