Fintech News Issue #311 April 16th, 2021

In this episode of Breaking Banks, Brett King is joined by Dr. Leda Glyptis, Chief Client Officer for 10x Future Technologies in the co-host chair and special guests Ryan Halstead, Vice President Sales North America for Jumio and Vincent Bezemer, Head of Strategy North American with Backbase. In the first half of the show, we explore the shift in consumer digital banking expectations and highlight why challengers are able to scale more quickly than traditional financial institutions. Then, tune in for the second half to learn about the rise of the buy now / pay later economy and frictionless credit.

Many consumers are facing financial stress as government relief programs are ending. This has opened the door for fintechs like Chime, SoFi, Credit Karma and others that combine the best of digital functionality with solutions that improve financial wellness on a personalized basis. How should traditional banks and credit unions respond to consumers in need?

Banks can protect and grow their core products—e.g., payments and loans—by finding new distribution opportunities through embedded finance. That might prove a difficult road, however, for mid-size financial institutions that find themselves shut out of those deals by retail platforms that partner exclusively with large banks.

Since March 2020, you’ve probably read countless articles hyping the acceleration of e-commerce, the digitalization of financial services, and other clichéd FinTech predictions.

Sandy Weill’s financial supermarket vision is coming to an inglorious end…. The Blockbusters of Banking…

Finance app downloads spiked by 15% during the pandemic, with mobile fintech applications outperforming banks by a factor of up to 10.8x, according to figures from mobile anlaytics platform App Annie.

Brian Hamilton says, 'You're going to see a lot more disruption in the space very soon'

The past two years have seen the valuations of the US’s most valuable venture (VC)-backed fintech companies soar. As of March 19, 2021, six fintechs were amongst the country’s top 20 most valuable VC-backed companies, and worth a combined US$145.1 billion, up 68% from their worth in 2020 of US$86 billion, data from PitchBook show.

The UK remains a hotbed for financial talent, technology, growth and investment, says Charlotte Crosswell, CEO of Innovate Finance.

Financial institutions must combine data, analytics, technology, and marketing automation to deliver a personalized experience that is customer-centric. Engagement must be based on real-time changes in consumer behavior, avoiding traditional product sales pitches but providing proactive recommendations that are fast and easy to deploy and respond to.

The Brazilian fintech company Nubank is now the largest neobank in the world, with 33 million customers and a $25 billion valuation. That valuation is already half that of Itau’s market cap, the largest public bank in Brazil, which has been around for more than 75 years.

Fintech platforms are helping to ensure customers not only understand what diversification means, but also how it can help them build a more balanced portfolio.