Fintech News Issue #275 July 20th, 2020

Jannick Malling, the CEO of Public, a social investing app backed by the likes of Will Smith and JJ Watt, explains how platform technologies are transforming the "experience" of investing for millennials. Plus, how the company won international plaudits for its decision to block its customers from participating in Hertz’s troubled $1 billion stock offering.

A fintech blog commenting on the Wirecard scandal stated: “Valued at €24 billion and part of Germany’s prestigious DAX stock index, it surprised and disappointed everyone when its auditors announced on June 18 that more than $2 billion in cash had disappeared.”

While the category has heated up quickly, the sheer size of the fintech opportunity suggests that these exits are just the tip of the iceberg. In the next five years, fintech will drive some of the biggest VC exits.

A generation on from the famous “on the Internet nobody knows you’re a dog” cartoon that became a staple of management consultants’ presentations ever after, the situation is now far worse.

Apple launched a credit card last year that offers special rewards for those who make purchases with an iPhone or use it to buy the company's products. The card is a new line of business for Apple but also a way to tighten its relationship with loyal customers.

HSBC has signed a long-term strategic cloud deal with Amazon Web Services to create a more personalised banking experience for its millions of customers worldwide.

The speculation that Alibaba’s fintech affiliate Ant Group will go public has been swirling around for years. New details came to light recently.

Monzo is to charge account holders £5 a month to get hold of account aggregation features in its mobile app, a service which other banks serve up as part and parcel of their digital offerings.

Venture capital might not seem like a natural home for those dismantling the financial system.

J.P. Koning, a CoinDesk columnist, worked as an equity researcher at a Canadian brokerage firm and is a financial writer at a large Canadian bank. He runs the popular Moneyness blog.

A former Coinbase user who last August received the now-infamous Internal Revenue Service (IRS) crypto letter is suing to block the tax agency from unlawfully seizing private financial records.

As the world moves rapidly online, the distinction between B2B and B2C is becoming increasingly hazy. Today, consumers have more visibility and connection to businesses further up the value chain.