What’d I miss? News and Insights that got noticed - Week 46

Key themes this week (November 10 - 16)

• Alkami Offers Banking Clients Plaid API Access
• BNPL companies face grim outlook, Moody’s says
• Ditch Introduces AI-Driven Debt Management App
• Starling signs first banking client for BaaS platform

Alkami Offers Banking Clients Plaid API Access

"...The new offering, announced Thursday (Nov. 9) lets Alkami’s financial institution (FI) clients benefit from the API from Plaid, whose data network that powers more than 8,000 financial services and apps…”

Key takeaways:

• This is a first-to-market partnership with Plaid for Alkami Technology where a majority of financial institutions are live, and Alkami is the first and largest major platform fully live on Plaid’s FDX-aligned API, Core Exchange,” Alkami said in a news release
• “This integration is also a major validator for digital banking API adoption, and we are proud to be the first and largest major platform to be fully live on the FDX-aligned API, as we know that this implementation will only become more critical in our industry,” said Melissa Henricks

LinkedIn Post

BNPL companies face grim outlook, Moody’s says

"...In addition, dwindling investor interest in the companies and more expensive funding for their lending services have helped sour prospects, according to the Nov. 8 report on the worldwide industry. To date, the difficulties have resulted in at least five years of industry losses, paid for by venture capitalists backing the businesses...”

Key takeaways:

• “If losses are not contained this year and new equity injections are not secured, many BNPL providers may deplete their equity over the next few years,” the report said
• BNPL benefited from a surge in online consumer demand for installment financing services during the pandemic, and more recently, some consumers are turning to it in the face of tough economic conditions
• To increase the potential for profits, some BNPL companies have started offering more interest-bearing loans and other services

LinkedIn Post

Ditch Introduces AI-Driven Debt Management App

"...Ditch, founded by Luis Andino, a graduate in computational mathematics from RIT and a former data scientist in a multi-billion dollar FinTech lending company, represents a blend of technological innovation and deep understanding of consumer financial behavior..."

Key takeaways:

• The creation of Ditch is rooted in Andino’s experiences in the financial sector, combined with his entrepreneurial ambition to offer a more effective solution for managing debt
• Ditch’s core mission is to empower individuals to achieve financial independence through a combination of personalized financial education and innovative debt management tools
• The application specifically targets the millennial and Gen Z demographics, offering an AI-powered platform that provides insights and strategies for effective and efficient debt repayment

LinkedIn Post

Starling signs first banking client for BaaS platform

"...Starling Bank has signed Romania's Salt Bank as the first client for its Banking-as-a-Service platform, Engine. Salt Bank, previously known as Idea Bank, is based in Bucharest and is a subsidiary of Banca Transilvania Financial Group, the largest bank in Southeastern Europe...."

Key takeaways:

• Salt Bank has ambitions to disrupt banking in Romania by bringing a digital user experience to millions of customers who want to do all their banking on their smartphones. Its app, which is expected to go live in 2024, will be available to individuals and businesses
• Separately, Starling has scored a win in Australia, with AMP pledging $60 million to build a new app-based banks based on Engine

LinkedIn Post

Revolut raises monthly fees for premium customers

“…Starting this week, Revolut Plus, Premium and Metal customers in the UK will receive an email notifying them of changes to the price of their plan. Customers will pay £3.99 per month (from £2.99 monthly) for Plus, £7.99 per month (previous price £6.99) for Premium, or a £2 upgrade to £14.99 per month for Metal…"

Key takeaways:

• Existing customers who are on a monthly billing can lock in their current plan price for a year by switching to annual billing before the date given on their email 
• As part of the upgrade, Premium and Metal plans will now include access to subscriptions for a roster of lifestyle apps, including Tinder, Deliveroo, the FT and others

LinkedIn Post

Customers Bank taps Funding Circle for Lending-as-a-Service platform

“…The bank says the end-to-end platform will enable it to deliver “affordable term loans” directly to its SMB customers. The platform incorporates Funding Circle’s loan operations, credit modelling and machine learning technology to allow partners to issue bank-like loans of up to $500,000 within 48 hours"

Key takeaways:

• The licencing expands the online lending platform’s loan capacity up to $5 million, an increase it plans to instate starting in early 2024
• The integration marks the latest development in Customers Bank’s lending capabilities after it previously selected UK fintech OakNorth’s lending platform for credit monitoring and portfolio management in April 2020
• Funding Circle was recently licenced to offer SBA 7(a) small business loans by the the US Small Business Administration this month

LinkedIn Post

PayPal Takes a Stance and Says Blockchains Are the New Financial Rails

“…The payments giant says blockchain technology offers a fundamentally new way to transact and that its stablecoin PYUSD is responding to customer needs..."

Key takeaways:

• The payments giant said it's convinced blockchain is the new financial rail, and that stablecoins are the way to deliver the promise of crypto to the world 
• This rallying cry for crypto coms just two weeks after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission subpoenaed the company, requesting documentation on its PYUSD stablecoin
• While PayPal says their position on crypto is neutral and that they "have no ideological horse in this race," it takes a stance on stablecoins: It believes its customers "want easier, faster, and cheaper payments," and that stabelcoins, and in PayPal's case, PYUSD, can fill that need

LinkedIn Post

Check this out:

Having access to the right data can help small-business lenders effectively onboard new loans and manage their existing portfolios. Danae Perkins, senior small business lending analyst at Curinos, gets into the details in this edition of the Curinos (F)insights podcast.

https://hubs.li/Q028PCLD0

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