Fintech News Issue #274 July 2nd, 2020

The Paycheck Protection Program was a godsend for small businesses, helping many stay afloat and keep their employees on the payroll.

TransferWise says it has received permission from the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority to deal in investments.

Today, the company is announcing new fundraising — later this month, the company is launching a major new version of its service and opening its doors to everyone. There’s a waitlist for now.

It was 4 o’clock in the morning and I had just spent another sleepless hour with a vital business challenge going round and round in my head. I had looked at the issue from multiple angles, considered best- and worst-case outcomes and worked through numerous solutions.

FinTech is booming in the UK, where it’s a competitive strength for the country’s economy. According to Tech Nation Report 2020, £4bn was invested into UK FinTechs in 2019 – more than double the previous year – placing the UK second only to the US in terms of investment.

Australian consumers can now choose to share their banking data with third party providers following the launch of Open Banking under the Consumer Data Right Act.

The startup is now working with Tezos developer groups Nomadic Labs and Metastate to implement the tech in the next network update.

Despite the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) unfreezing WCS operations on Tuesday, many fintechs have already moved – or are in the process of moving – away from the card issuer.

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School is partnering with the World Bank Group and the World Economic Forum to launch a Global Covid-19 FinTech Market Rapid Assessment Survey.

McKinsey I only just stumbled across this 124 page report from McKinsey. I know we can critique consulting frims, but sometimes they do produce something interesting, apart from auditing.

China and fintech have become synonymous with one another as the industry has grown. Many use Chinese technology as a case study for embedded and integrated banking into everyday life. Our Features Editor Sophie Camp looks into the future of fintech in China and whether it’ll be rosy or thorny.

A federal appeals court on Tuesday affirmed a lower court’s denial of a motion to suppress evidence in a case that hinged on whether the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects Bitcoin blockchain records from warrantless search and seizure.

Much has been made of the drop in use of challenger banks during the Covid-19 crisis. Recent research from Curve, for example, has found that, as the UK entered lockdown, use of challenger banks’ products fell by 90%, compared to just 60% for traditional banks.