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Wise Launches Two New Products, Undergoes Rebrand

Wise Launches Two New Products, Undergoes Rebrand
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, TransferWise, Wise
  • Wise is unveiling a new look and feel, as well as two new products.
  • The company anticipates its “visual makeover” will create a more consistent user experience.
  • The two new products include the Wise Business Card and a money transfer link.

It can be tough for a legacy fintech to make noise among the onslaught of new competing digital tools released on a weekly basis. Despite the challenge, cross-border money transfer product Wise is finding a way.

The U.K.-based company has swapped its color scheme from blue to green. But that’s not all that has changed. As Wise described in a press announcement, “The complete visual makeover features a fresh green palette and a bold new font, and draws from global currencies, languages, alphabets and places around the world.”

Interestingly, Wise changed its name from Transferwise two years ago in an effort to broaden its image from a money transfer company to a more holistic global banking services provider. Today’s change could be seen as a next step in that process. Wise explained that the new look and feel will make its customer experience consistent regardless of the customer’s geographical location or language. This new experience reinforces Wise’s mission to “build money without borders.”

Describing the visual change, Wise Co-founder and CEO Kristo Käärmann said, “Our new look is inspired by the millions of people and businesses worldwide that use Wise today. It draws from where they come from, but also represents the excitement of the world open for them to conquer.”

Today’s announcement also highlighted two new products for the global money firm. The first is the Wise Business Card, which is an extension of the company’s Wise Account. The card is currently available to U.S. customers. The second new product– also for U.S. users– enables users to transfer money to recipients via a link. Instead of requiring the sender to know the recipient’s bank details, the recipient can securely enters their bank credentials after clicking on the link.

Despite today’s progress, Käärmann says the company still has a long road ahead. “People and businesses are still being duped by hidden fees, and losing over £180 billion each year to their banks,” he explained. “This is money they could have otherwise used to pay bills, expand their businesses or even save for a rainy day. We don’t accept it and we’re committed to solving this for everyone, everywhere.”

Wise also celebrated a new milestone in today’s announcement. The company has reached 16 million customers since launching in 2011. Wise’s technology enables people and businesses to hold funds in more than 50 currencies, as well as move money between countries and spend money across international borders. The company went public in mid-2021 and now trades on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker WISE with a current market capitalization of $5.94 billion.

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Klarna Reports Loss But Plans to Return to Profitability by Summer

Klarna Reports Loss But Plans to Return to Profitability by Summer
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, Klarna
  • Klarna reported a $1 billion operating loss in 2022, up from a $680 million operating loss in 2021.
  • Despite the loss, Klarna plans to return to profitability by this summer.
  • Klarna last reported a full year profitability in 2018.

Consumer payment services company Klarna is inching toward profitability, but is still in the red.

The Swedish company released its operating figures this week, reporting an operating loss of $1 billion for 2022 (10.5 billion crowns). The negative side of the news is that Klarna’s operating loss increased– the company reported a loss of $680 million in 2021. But the positive spin is that Klarna plans to return to profitability by summer.

Last week, the buy now, pay later (BNPL) player reported it has seen a large amount of growth in its U.S. market. The region generated a 71% year-over-year increase in gross merchandise volume, while improving credit loss rates by 37%. As of December 2022, the U.S– with its 34 million consumers– has become Klarna’s largest market by revenue.

Klarna, which last posted a full-year profit in 2018, may be able to reach its 2023 profitability goal. The company has seen increased growth in the U.S. and the U.K. “The U.S. and the U.K. [are] growing at a very high pace, pushing up the average growth number for the whole company,” said company Chief Executive Sebastian Siemiatkowski in a statement to Reuters. Additionally, the company restructured in 2022. Klarna let go of 10% of its staff in May of last year in an effort to rein in costs.

With 150 million customers across the globe, Klarna is one of the pioneers in the BNPL arena and currently offers its BNPL payment tools in 45 markets. More than 400,000 retailers, including H&M, Macy’s, and IKEA, offer Klarna within their checkout flow. The company has raised $4.5 billion since it was founded in 2005.

Photo by Mac Mullins

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CoreLogic Acquires Digital Mortgage Platform Roostify

CoreLogic Acquires Digital Mortgage Platform Roostify
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Alumni profile, Daily news, Mergers & Acquisitions, Roostify

Almost a decade after the company made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring, digital mortgage platform Roostify has agreed to be acquired by property information, analytics, and data-enabled solutions provider CoreLogic. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We believe that this is an important transaction for the industry,” Roostify co-founder and CEO Rajesh Bhat said. “From inception, Roostify’s mission has been to accelerate and streamline the home lending journey. Bringing together the power of CoreLogic’s data and analytics suite with the Roostify digital lending platform allows us to accelerate the journey towards a truly data driven digital origination experience in one single platform.”

The integration of the two technologies will help clients secure key data about both borrowers and properties at the beginning of the lending process. This not only saves time and money, but the transparency also helps ensure that lenders receive the information they need as early as possible – before processing and underwriting – in order to minimize errors and make loan conditions clear to all parties. The result is an improved customer experience with less processing and lower underwriting expenses.

Founded in 2012, Roostify currently helps home lenders process more than $50 billion in loans every month. With clients ranging from TD Bank and Santander to CIS Home Loans and First American Mortgage Solutions, Roostify helps lenders close more loans, improve margins, increase the ability to scale their operations, and maximize customer satisfaction. The San Francisco, California-based company offers a 45% decrease in time to close for a customer within 90 days of go-live, an application submission rate of 85%, and only 14 days on average between submission and delivery to underwriting.

“We sit on an incredible amount of data, analytics, and essential workflow solutions that when properly integrated to the loan lifecycle, can deliver a better mortgage experience for borrowers as well as lenders,” CoreLogic President of Mortgage Solutions Jay Kingsley said. “The Roostify acquisition will unlock our ability to quickly execute on this mission.”

Roostify has raised $65 million in total equity funding, securing investments from Mouro Capital, Cota Capital, and USAA among others. Ten Coves Capital led Roostify’s most recent fundraising, a $32 million Series C round in January 2021. Dan Kittredge, Managing Partner at Ten Coves Capital praised Roostify as “well-positioned to accelerate the digitalization of home lending infrastructure,” especially given the fact that “the mortgage lending industry has been relatively slow to embrace digital technologies.” Kittredge added, “the opportunity to re-design the future of home lending through technology cannot be overstated.”

Photo by Pixabay

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Payment Intelligence Company Pagos Locks in $34 Million in New Funding

Payment Intelligence Company Pagos Locks in $34 Million in New Funding
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Funding
  • Payment intelligence company Pagos has raised $34 million in Series A funding.
  • The capital, which takes the company’s total equity funding to $44 million, will be used to expand the company’s engineering team and advance Pagos’ enterprise product suite.
  • Pagos was founded in 2021 by veterans of Braintree, Venmo, PayPal, Stripe, eBanx, Klarna, and Apple.

In a round led by Arbor Ventures, payment intelligence company Pagos has secured $34 million in Series A funding. The oversubscribed round also featured participation from Point 72 Ventures, Infinity Ventures, and Underscore VC. The investment will enable the company to grow its engineering team and advance Pago’s enterprise product suite.

“Our platform helps companies understand and act on the data that already exists within their payments environment, allowing them to better support changing consumer behavior and demands, reduce their operating costs, increase their revenue, and mitigate unnecessary customer friction — all without having to change their current payments infrastructure,” Pagos co-founder and CEO Klas Bäck explained in a statement.

Pagos’ total funding now stands at $44 million, according to Crunchbase. The Wilmington, Delaware-based company raised $10 million in seed funding in October 2021.

Many of the largest online brands in the world – including Adobe, GoFundMe, and Eventbrite – rely on Pagos’ platform. The company’s technology analyzes more than one billion transactions a year, providing real-time payment transaction monitoring to help companies detect potential issues, trends, and opportunities – all without having to change their existing payment stack. Via solutions like Peacock, Pagos provides businesses with a dashboard that provides full visibility into payments data across vendors, channels, and markets. This enables them to build a flywheel of payments optimization which leads to improved customer conversions and identification of optimal payment methods, as well as the ability to conduct A/B testing and more.

“Payment processing is fundamental to customer relationships, revenue, and a business’s bottom line, but most companies don’t have the data, knowledge, or tools to develop and execute on a best-in-class payments performance strategy,” Bäck said. “Even the small number of companies that do have those resources are leaving money on the table.”

Founded in 2021 by former Braintree, Venmo, PayPal, Stripe, eBanx, Klarna, and Apple veterans, Pagos began 2023 with news that the company had crossed the one billion transaction events threshold for the first time.

Photo by NAUSHIL | SKYHAWK. ASIA

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FinovateEurope 2023 Sneak Peek: Quoroom

FinovateEurope 2023 Sneak Peek: Quoroom
By Madeline Clines Posted on
Categories: FinovateEurope 2023, FinovateEurope 2023 Sneak Peek, Quoroom

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope in London on March 14. Register today and save your spot.

Quoroom is the end-to-end fundraising and cap table management software for private companies. It is a secret weapon to raise capital faster, and manage shareholders and company compliance in one place.

Features

  • Includes an Investor CRM and Metrics Visualization to raise capital faster
  • Supplies Data Room and Legal Templates to close a funding round cheaper
  • Provides Integrated Cap Table to issue shares and manage employee options

Why it’s great

One powerful platform for companies to raise capital and manage investors. One source of truth on deal flow and portfolio companies for investors.

Presenter

Ulyana Shtybel, Co-Founder & CEO
Shtybel has 10+ years in capital markets, and is the former Executive Director of the Warsaw Stock Exchange Office in Ukraine. Shtybel was named one of the InspiringFifty 2022 – The Top Fifty Women in European Tech.
LinkedIn

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FinovateEurope 2023 Sneak Peek: Openfinance

FinovateEurope 2023 Sneak Peek: Openfinance
By Madeline Clines Posted on
Categories: FinovateEurope 2023, FinovateEurope 2023 Sneak Peek, Openfinance

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope in London on March 14. Register today and save your spot.

Openfinance Ecosystem is a marketplace where the best wealthtech solutions are co-created together with the most innovative companies currently taking the lead.

Features

  • Reduces provider and operational risk
  • Reduces integration costs and time to market
  • Selects the best innovative solutions that fit a company’s needs

Why it’s great

Openfinance Ecosystem does not just integrate multiple providers; it also creates synergies with third party solutions to cover the entire value-added chain through a single platform.

Presenters

Gonzalo de la Peña, Founder & Chief Business Development Officer
de la Peña has accumulated more than 20 years of experience revolutionizing the fintech industry.
LinkedIn

Paula Moreno, Product Lead
Moreno holds a degree in Business Administration and joined Openfinance in 2008, accumulating 25 years of professional experience.
LinkedIn

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FinovateEurope 2023 Sneak Peek: Fyndoo (by Topicus)

FinovateEurope 2023 Sneak Peek: Fyndoo (by Topicus)
By Madeline Clines Posted on
Categories: FinovateEurope 2023, FinovateEurope 2023 Sneak Peek, Topicus

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope in London on March 14. Register today and save your spot.

Fyndoo by Topicus will demo its impact-based pricing model, which determines a loan price based on sustainable impact. The company also will demo the ESG Policy Mix Panel: a tool for policy makers to model their ESG policy.

Features

  • Price a loan based on ESG impact
  • Differentiate from competitors with a focused ESG policy
  • Model a company’s ESG policy effortlessly and allow for instant implementation

Why it’s great

Impact-based pricing is a key instrument for creating sustainable change. The Mix Panel is a unique way to model and implement an ESG Policy.

Presenter

Mariam Malwand, Manager New Business
Within Fyndoo, Malwand is responsible for managing new business. She ensures a match between the strategic objectives of her clients and the opportunities that Fyndoo has to offer!
LinkedIn

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FinovateEurope 2023 Sneak Peek: Partner HUB

FinovateEurope 2023 Sneak Peek: Partner HUB
By Madeline Clines Posted on
Categories: FinovateEurope 2023, FinovateEurope 2023 Sneak Peek, Partner HUB

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateEurope in London on March 14. Register today and save your spot.

Partner HUB will demo how banks can use request-to-pay and provide a next-generation EBPP service for their customers. Partner HUB will also showcase its integration with AnswerPay’s RTP solution.

Features

  • Build a value added service upon the instant payment infrastructure
  • Provide automated reconciliation for merchants for invoices, payments, and payment requests

Why it’s great

E-invoicing will add significant value to banking in the future. Request-to-pay is the first use case to demonstrate how enriched datasets can create value for banks and their customers.

Presenters

Katalin Kauzli, Co-Founder & Business Development Director
Kauzli is an advocate for using invoice data in banking. She is active in several industry initiatives.
LinkedIn

Peter Malaczko, Founder & CEO
Malaczko has been involved in invoicing IT development projects for the last 20 years, both in the corporate and SME space.

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eToro Teams Up with Sentifi to Launch Social Sentiment Portfolio

eToro Teams Up with Sentifi to Launch Social Sentiment Portfolio
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Alumni News, Daily news, eToro, Sentifi
  • eToro launched its SocialSentiment portfolio of stocks with high ESG and social sentiment criteria this week.
  • The new offering was made possible courtesy of a partnership with alternative data provider – and fellow Finovate alum – Sentifi.
  • Sentifi’s technology analyzes more than 500 million tweet – and two million news articles, forums, and blog – in order to create its social sentiment rating (sentScore) for positive social chatter.

eToro has unveiled a new solution for investors looking for exposure to U.S. companies with strong ESG performance. The social investing network has teamed up with alternative data provider Sentifi to launch SocialSentiment, a new portfolio offering that features the top 10 stocks in the S&P 500 that meet ESG and social sentiment criteria. Rebalanced monthly, the initial roster of stocks in the SocialSentiment portfolio are: Verisign, Teradyne, Northern Trust, Mid-America Apartment Communities, Intuitive Surgical, Fifth Third Bancorp, F5 Networks, Equity Residential, Dollar Tree, and Allstate.

‘With this portfolio, we aim to offer retail investors exposure to stocks that are being discussed in a positive light on social and digital channels, adding an extra layer of insights,” eToro Head of Investment Portfolios Dani Brinker said. “We look forward to partnering with the Sentifi team, and working together to harness the power of social networks.”

Sentifi made its Finovate debut at FinovateAsia in Hong Kong in 2016, and returned to the Finovate stage a year later for FinovateEurope in London. The company’s AI-enabled technology analyzes more than 5,000 stocks, currencies, commodities, and indices – as well as passive and active mutual funds. Sentifi combines market metrics with social sentiment (sentScore) and an ESG score to create a roster of stocks that have both high ESG credentials and positive social chatter and awareness. Sentifi builds its sentScores by analyzing more than 500 million tweets, as well as two million news articles, forums, and blogs.

“The events over the past several years relating to the meme stock rallies are evidence of how the herd can change direction, and where these changes happen, which is largely in social networks and forums,” Sentifi CEO Marina Goche said. “Social networks, news, blogs, and forums are also a valuable source of changing risk for asset classes and offer dynamic views on ESG performance appreciation and degradation for companies globally — essential for constructing portfolios that outperform a benchmark.”

Investors can buy into the SocialSentiment portfolio with as little as $500. Investors can access tools and charts to track the portfolio’s performance, as well as monitor eToro’s social feed to stay up-to-date on developments in the sector. At this time, the portfolio is not available to investors in the U.S.

eToro’s SocialSentiment portfolio is the latest addition to the company’s suite of Smart Portfolios that give investors exposure to a variety of market themes. The portfolios are for long-term investments, feature unique investment strategies, are curated by eToro analysts, and give investors a way to gain exposure to a diverse range of major market trends without having to pay portfolio management fees.

Founded in 2007, eToro has more than 30 million registered users on its social investing network. Among Finovate’s earliest alums, the company won Best of Show in its debut at FinovateEurope in 2011.

Photo by Leeloo Thefirst

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Finovate Global Canada: Paytech M&A, Mobile Top-Ups, and New Rules for Crypto Exchanges

Finovate Global Canada: Paytech M&A, Mobile Top-Ups, and New Rules for Crypto Exchanges
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Finovate Global, ThetaRay, Western Union

Canada Inks New Guidelines for Crypto Exchanges

In the wake of the FTX scandal and the so-called “crypto winter,” the Canadian Securities Administration (CSA) has issued a set of new regulations for cryptocurrency exchanges. The new guidelines involve both commitments to investor protection as well as a registration mandate. The mandate requires “crypto asset trading platforms” (CTPs) operating in Canada to provide a pre-registration commitment to Canada’s security regulators within 30 days – and begin a full registration process. Announced this week, CTPs in Canada will have until late March to comply. Those institutions that do not comply will not be allowed to legally serve Canadian clients. The regulations also institute a significant crackdown on the trading of stablecoins. Defined as “securities and/or derivatives” by the CSA in 2022, these digital assets can no longer be purchased or stored on cryptocurrency exchanges without written permission from the CSA.

“Recent insolvencies involving several crypto asset trading platforms highlight the tremendous risks associated with trading crypto assets, particularly when conducted on unregistered platforms based outside of Canada,” CSA Chair and Chair and CEO of the Alberta Securities Commission Stan Magidson said.

The new rules will undoubtedly make life tougher for cryptocurrency exchanges in the near-term. Nevertheless, the new regulations may provide more room for these businesses to operate than it may seem at first glance. From the multi-part registration process to the ability to secure permission to offer stablecoins, it seems clear that Canadian regulators are taking a relatively cautious approach to correcting the course of cryptocurrencies in the Great White North.

Ding and Western Union Bring Mobile Top-Up to Canadian Customers

The international mobile top-up platform Ding has teamed up with one of the leaders in the money transfer business. Ding has reached an agreement with Western Union that will enable customers in Canada to send international top-up payments to the mobile phones of more than five billion prepaid customers worldwide.

“We are thrilled to be teaming with one of the largest money transfer operations in the world,” Ding Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Rockett said. “The launch of Ding Checkout with Western Union will give consumers access to a complimentary service which they can use to support their friends and families around the globe. We are excited to unveil our capabilities as a digital value transfer platform and drive growth in both new and existing customers for Western Union.”

The partnership between Ding and Western Union will launch in Canada first. The partnership will give Western Union customers access to Ding’s network of more than 600 mobile operators across 140+ countries, covering 95% of the world’s population. The collaboration also gives Western Union customers a new way to add minutes and data quickly to their mobile plans.

Nuvei Completes $1.3 Billion Acquisition of Paya

At the beginning of the year, Canadian paytech Nuvei announced that it had agreed to acquire U.S. integrated payments and commerce solutions provider Paya for $1.3 billion. This week, Nuvei reported that the transaction has been completed.

“This is an important milestone for Nuvei as we continue to build a preeminent payment technology provider with strong positions in global eCommerce, Integrated Payments, and B2B,” Nuvei Chair and CEO Philip Fayer said in a statement. “I’m thrilled to officially welcome our new colleagues form Paya to the Nuvei family. We have been working diligently on our integration planning, and we are ready to begin the next step on this exciting journey as a single, unified team.”

Paya processed $50 billion in annual payment volume in 2022, with much of that amount coming from companies in verticals such as healthcare, non-profit, government, utilities, and other B2B end markets. Nuvei paid $9.75 per share for the NASDAQ-listed company, which went public via a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) FinTech Acquisition Corp III in 2020.

Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Nuvei was founded in 2003. The company also made headlines this year in forging new partnerships with enterprise digital commerce platform VTEX, Colombian payment processor Redeban, and online business marketplace platform Le Panier Bleu.

Here is our look at fintech innovation around the world.

Central and Eastern Europe

  • Swiss software firm Netcetera acquired Slovenian mobile app and digital identity development company Kamino.
  • Saldo Bank launched in Lithuania.
  • Germany-based business financial management (BFM) company finway secured $10 million (€9.2 million) in Series A funding.

Middle East and Northern Africa

  • Remittance processor Remitly went live with its outbound remittance solution in the UAE.
  • Morocco-based fintech Gwala raised pre-seed funding to support its on-demand payment solution for employees and employers. The amount of the investment was not disclosed.
  • Saudi Arabia-based fintech Hala acquired UAE payments company Paymennt.com – previously known as PointCheckout.

Central and Southern Asia

  • India-based banking-as-a-service platform Decentro launched in Singapore this week.
  • Pakistani digital lending platform AdalFi announced a $7.5 million investment led by UAE-based COTU Ventures, Chimera Ventures, Pakistan-based Fatima Gobi Ventures, and Zayn Capital.
  • Indian payments solution provider PayU launched its 3D Secure 2.0 SDK.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Mexican mobile banking app Tudi selected ThetaRay as its AML/transaction monitoring partner.
  • Brazil-based fintech Celcoin announced its $16.3 million acquisition of open finance company Finansystech.
  • Refresh Miami interviewed Juan Pablo Jiménez, Chief Sales Officer of Ecuador’s first unicorn, Kushki.

Asia-Pacific

Sub-Saharan Africa

  • South African mobility fintech company, Planet42, raised $100 million in combined equity, debt, and a credit facility.
  • WorldStage profiled Nigeria-based Islamic fintech startup HalalVest.
  • Kenya-based micro-lender Power Financial Wellness secured $3 million in seed funding.

Photo by Andre Furtado

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Western Union Taps Beforepay for Send Now, Pay Later

Western Union Taps Beforepay for Send Now, Pay Later
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Daily news, Western Union
Western Union tapped Beforepay to enable clients in Australia to pay for money transfers in installments after the transfer has been sent.
  • Western Union and Beforepay announced a partnership that will enable Australians to pay for money transfers in installments after the money has been sent.
  • Called Send Now, Pay Later, the tool enables users to borrow around $1,400 (AUD $2,000) and repay in installments over a short period of time.
  • 44% of Australia’s consumers said they would like an option to Send Now, Pay Later.

Global money transfer company Western Union is teaming up with payment innovator Beforepay to offer its Australia-based customers a short-term loan option. Dubbed Send Now, Pay Later, the tool leverages Beforepay’s wage-advance product to enable users to borrow up to around $1,400 (AUD $2,000) via Western Union’s digital channels.

Registration for the new service takes “minutes” and users can repay the amount in multiple installments. Western Union is hoping the new capability will enable Australia users to increase the amount of their money transfers. The company reports that 44% of Australia’s consumers said they would like an option to Send Now, Pay Later.

“We are committed to supporting our customers and their communities by offering financial services that are accessible, ethical, and reliable,” said Western Union Regional Vice President of Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands Gregory Laurent. “Western Union’s mission is to make financial services accessible to people everywhere. Our collaboration with Beforepay is another step towards achieving this mission – giving customers the opportunity to access additional funds as they send money to families and communities. We are excited about the positive impact it can have for consumers, as they proactively look for convenient options to meet their financial needs.”

Western Union was founded in 1851 and is one of the oldest cross-border money transfer pioneers.  The company enables users to send international money transfers in more than 130 currencies to over 200 countries and territories. Last August, Western Union expanded its partnership with Visa to bring Visa Direct to its U.S. clients.

With 750,000 registered users, Beforepay offers a wage advance product that extends small dollar loans over a short period of time. The company charges a 5% fee for its flagship product, but does not charge interest, late fees, or penalty fees. The average Beforepay advance totals $275 (AUD $400), and is repaid in an average of three to four weeks.

“We’re excited to collaborate with Western Union to support their customers with access to safe, affordable short-term lending,” said Beforepay CEO Jamie Twiss. “Beforepay and Western Union share a vision of providing inclusive financial services to aspiring consumers around the world.”

Photo credit: Western Union

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Pinwheel CEO Kurt Lin on the Impact of the CFPB on Open Finance

Pinwheel CEO Kurt Lin on the Impact of the CFPB on Open Finance
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Speaker series
CFPB Open Finance

The U.S. is still in the early stages of implementing open banking, but the conversation is well underway. Kurt Lin, CEO and co-founder of Pinwheel, is an industry expert who has spent his career building infrastructure to enable innovators to build the future of the financial system. In a recent interview, he discussed how the role of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has evolved and how recent regulations may bring open banking to the U.S.

How has the role of the CFPB evolved and how will these changes impact consumers?

Kurt Lin: As the fintech space continues to evolve, so does the CFPB. Amid the industry’s boom in recent years, the CFPB has taken the stage as the primary regulator of the sector, supervising and creating regulation at pace with innovation. The CFPB remains dialed into consumer abuses and works to uproot long-accepted but malignant practices such as overdraft fees and depositor fees, along with creating new regulations for emerging technologies. 

Much as we are working to create a fairer financial system at Pinwheel, the CFPB is working to do the same, as is further signaled by recent remarks given by Director Chopra. The latest guidelines indicate that the CFPB is pushing for a world where consumers have more control over their data, leading to increased agency and choice over their primary financial institutions. 

What major regulatory changes are coming that will impact banks and fintechs?

Lin: The CFPB is further codifying Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act to promote open finance. A few examples of initiatives we can expect to see this year: 

Increasing consumers’ ownership over their financial data. Income and employment data is arguably the most important part of someone’s financial life, but the amount of regulation around portability, security, and ownership, doesn’t match up to the significance of this type of information. Under new regulation, we expect things like Direct Deposit Switching (DDS) to become the norm. DDS is at the core of open banking. Income starts at the direct deposit, and having more control over that information and the flow of funds is critical for consumers to remove the immense friction that prevents them from quickly setting up or moving their direct deposits. 

Subsequently, as consumers will have more control over their data, we expect an improvement in how we evaluate creditworthiness and underwrite loans. As it stands, income still isn’t a key factor in a traditional credit score. However, a recent study we just conducted found that over 80% of consumers are comfortable sharing their income and payroll data. That’s a pretty clear signal that the general population is aware that it will be advantageous for them to control and share this information to access better financial products. 

After last year’s FTX scandal, it is very apparent that crypto regulations are coming. What do you envision new crypto regulations will look like? 

Lin: Crypto is not my main domain, however, I have a few thoughts:

There’s a lot of talk about things like regulations to require crypto exchanges to have proof of reserves, etc. to create more transparency and trust in the ecosystem.  

While it’s productive to see this dialogue, there is still a lot of work to be done around establishing clear guidance. For example, what are the right standards, how should this be audited, how do you get visibility into what the true liabilities are, etc.  

I don’t expect clear or immediate action, but I expect increased scrutiny of the ecosystem, particularly around centralized exchanges. This increased scrutiny will also include market participants taking an even more active role in building new tools to better monitor behavior on-chain and using those tools to inform future regulations.  

Are there any areas in fintech and/or banking that you see lacking regulation or oversight?

Lin: Speaking broadly about this topic as a whole, it can be extremely slow to enact new policies such as these. In the meantime, we’re excited about helping to cultivate an open banking-like structure by furthering our partnerships with payroll providers. This is something we’re hyper-focused on this year, which will help more broadly unlock consumer-permissioned income data. This has two benefits: it will give consumers more control over their financial info and enable banks and fintechs to use this data to build more robust offerings.

Photo by Leyre Labarga on Unsplash

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