What’d I miss? News and Insights that got noticed - Week 17

Key themes this week (April 19 - April 25)

• Goldman Sachs Selling Marcus Invest's Digital Investing Accounts to Betterment
• [POLL] Most people trust Apple as their primary financial services provider
• Fintech One offers BNPL at Walmart stores
• Stripe Co-Founders Say They’re Building ‘Software-Defined Financial Services’

Goldman Sachs Selling Marcus Invest's Digital Investing Accounts to Betterment

"...Robo-adviser Betterment has agreed to buy Marcus Invest's digital investing accounts from Goldman Sachs, which will continue to focus on its Marcus Deposits platform. The digital investing accounts are expected to transition to Betterment on or about June 29. The transaction only includes Marcus Invest accounts and assets under management. It won't include additional accounts, technology, employees, or operations..."

Key takeaways:

• The transaction, which includes Marcus Invest accounts and assets under management, is expected to close on or about June 29.
• It will not include additional accounts, technology, employees, or operations.
• Goldman Sachs shares were up 2.8% in afternoon trading.

LinkedIn Post

[POLL] Which one of these four companies (Meta, Apple, Google, Amazon) would you trust to be your primary financial services provider?

As I was doing research on BigTech in Financial Services I wanted to ask the LinkedIn audience for help with this week’s poll question. Many of you trust Apple, Google, Amazon and Meta with a lot of your personal data (photos, emails, shopping data, location, etc.). So I asked the audience: “Which one of these four companies would you trust to be your primary financial services provider?”

The poll is still open if you want to add your answer so below are the preliminary results.

Key takeaways:

• 68% of respondents trusts Apple
• 15% of respondents trusts Google
• 16% of respondent trusts Amazon
• No one answered Meta

LinkedIn Post

Fintech One offers BNPL at Walmart stores: report

"...Fintech One, which partners with Everett, Washington-based Coastal Community Bank for banking services, is led by Goldman Sachs veterans Omer Ismail and David Stark. In 2022, One began offering banking services to Walmart’s 1.6 million U.S. employees and some of its customers, and was reported to be working on its own buy now, pay later offering that year..."

Key takeaways:

• Fintech One is offering BNPL at Walmart stores, competing with Affirm, which has partnered with Walmart since 2019.
• One’s BNPL services are available for higher-priced items at some of Walmart’s 4,615 U.S. stores.
• Walmart and One are also exploring other financial services, such as issuing credit cards.

LinkedIn Post

Apple Acquires Paris AI Startup Datakalab

"...Datakalab, founded in 2016 by Xavier Fischer and Lucas Fischer, specializes in making efficient AI algorithms that consume less power and are ideal for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. According to the company’s LinkedIn page, Datakalab describes itself as a company that offers “industry-leading compression and adaptation to implement integrated computer vision that is fast, cost-effective and accurate.”  The move may be part of Apple’s broader plan to bring state-of-the-art AI features to its devices, starting with the upcoming iOS 18..."

Key takeaways:

• Datakalab specializes in making efficient AI algorithms for mobile devices.
• Apple is reportedly developing new AI systems, including ReALM, for voice assistants and iPhone software.
• Apple is in discussions with Google and OpenAI to incorporate their AI into its products.

 LinkedIn Post

Stripe Co-Founders Say They’re Building ‘Software-Defined Financial Services’

"...Today’s customers of the FinTech industry are no longer asking just for ways to accept online payments; they’re asking for “software-defined financial services.” So said Stripe co-founders Patrick Collison and John Collison Wednesday (April 24) during the opening keynote of the company’s annual user conference held in San Francisco. While they founded Stripe in 2009 to enable the acceptance of online payments, they soon got requests for additional, unexpected features, Patrick Collison said. For example, over the years, the requests included features for automating driver payouts, building spending accounts and issuing corporate cards for merchants, and lending to doctors’ clinics..."

Key takeaways:

• Stripe co-founders Patrick and John Collison say that today’s FinTech customers are asking for more than just ways to accept online payments. They want software-defined financial services that knit together the existing financial ecosystem.
• Stripe is building a platform with features like AI-powered payments, Stripe Connect, and greater interoperability.
• In March, Stripe reported that it surpassed $1 trillion in total payment volume, a 25% increase from the previous year.

LinkedIn Post

Visa launches open banking with Tink in the US

"...Visa CEO Ryan McInerney states: "Just about two years ago we acquired Tink as we saw opportunity in open banking. Over those two years, we have been expanding our presence in Europe, winning deals with Adyen and Revolut. We’re now expanding open banking solutions through Tink into the United States...”

Key takeaways:

• For the US launch, Visa has signed data access agreements with several banks and fintechs, including Capital One, Fiserv, and Dwolla.
• Users can access financial data, confirm bank account details, and run balance checks through a single console.
• A recent survey found that 87% of US consumers use some form of open banking, but only 34% are aware of the benefits.

LinkedIn Post

Check this out:

If you just want to listen to the What’d I miss Top 3 from last week you can watch this video… 

As I am always interested in what you think about these posts, send me a message, or just leave a comment on the post on LinkedIn. If you like reading this please engage with the posts since that is the currency of LinkedIn.