good morning. Welcome to Protocol Fintech. This Thursday: Robin Hood has raised money, Apple is ready for a fintech attack, and El Salvador is holding back Bitcoin ties.
Off the chain
Robin Hood’s shareholders didn’t seem to be impressed with the flashy rollout of new spending accounts, the latest evolution in products that are making it difficult to reach the market. The first attempt to introduce a “check” product in 2018 stalled when SIPC refused to extend securities account insurance to the product. In 2019, we renewed our products with FDIC insurance. 2022 Version — Called Robinhood Cash Card or Robinhood Money LLC Prepaid Account If you are troublesome — Provides a bonus for rounding up savings that fluctuate from 10% to 100%. This is a practical product and the exchange of debit card purchases can be a stable source of revenue. But once Robin Hood’s own stock wasn’t as exciting as go-go stock or crypto trading.
— Owen Thomas (Email | twitter).
Apple FinTech Attack
Apple has recently made a big fintech move.It is reportedly acquiring a UK open banking startup Credit praise About $ 150 million.Last month, merchants said they would soon be able to use the iPhone directly. Process paymentNo additional hardware required.
Technology giants are pioneers in financial services using Apple Pay, Apple Card, and iMessage, not to mention the huge amount of payments they process for consumers and developers via iTunes and the App Store. Is Apple preparing for another FinTech attack?
Financial data is the key to success. Credit Kudos provides Apple data aggregation tools like those provided by Plaid and Finicity.
- Also known as open banking, direct access to data is critical to FinTech. So Mastercard bought Finicity and Visa tried to buy Plaid.
- However, Apple’s deal may be about geographic expansion. Moore Insight & Strategy analyst Melody Blue told the protocol.
- The US-only scope of the Apple Card is a weakness in Apple’s fintech strategy. “We’re celebrating the third anniversary of the Apple Card’s announcement, and it’s amazing that a company once known for trading couldn’t expand its flagship product,” said Mark Gurman of Bloomberg. .. I have written In January.
- Blue also speculated that Apple may be looking at new services such as the fast-growing “buy now, pay later” industry. Credit Kudos “provides access to financial history and data without relying on hard credit checks or traditional credit score models,” she said. This is an important factor in providing an immediate installment plan.
Apple is also chasing small businesses. The company has rolled out a new feature called Tap to Pay that allows merchants to accept payments with the tap of an iPhone.
- Apple’s TaptoPay service doesn’t actually process payments. Instead, replace the hardware that reads your credit or debit card number.Therefore, headings that claim to do the following should be ignored: “Apple wants to kill Square”: The analysis completely ignores the evolution of block payment units from the dongle offering. Selling more sophisticated software and services It doesn’t mention Apple’s offer.
- However, Apple is arming the Block competition. In this deployment, we partnered with another fintech powerhouse, Stripe. Stripe CEO Billy Alvarado told Reuters that the new feature will allow businesses to “accept contactless payments on devices that are already in their pockets: the iPhone.”
That’s where things get interesting to Apple. Developers have complained about some App Store practices, but Apple doesn’t collect fees from retail e-commerce or face-to-face payments, except for the small Apple Pay fees charged to banks. Combine Tap to Pay, Apple Card, and open banking to see the sparkle of a payment system that completely bypasses the credit card network and its fees. This allows Apple’s interests to align with the interests of merchants and software developers, alleviating concerns about another Big Tech player moving to FinTech.
This has helped Apple succeed in “making a clear distinction from the stigma of Big Tech,” Blue said. “With no time, attractive services, and no failures, a company can easily be seen as a financial services company.”
Message from the fire block
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With money
About the protocol: Malaysia only I can’t decide About encryption. A few days after one government minister said it was important for the country’s youth to encourage its development, another said there were no plans to make it legal tender.
Crypto.com is the official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup. Another move for Crypto.com to establish a solid position in the sports world is the football tournament. Announced The cryptocurrency exchange becomes its exclusive crypto trading sponsor.
GameStop has begun beta testing the NFT Marketplace. According to Loopling, the new market will be built on Ethereum’s scaling technology, with LRC token prices skyrocketing and then rising 34%. GameStop Announcement.. Robbie Ferguson, immutable President and co-founder of X, Eliminate confusionSaid his company is still providing technology to the market.
Meta has submitted eight trademarks related to crypto and blockchain software. The Trademark application Because of its blue two-loop logo, it shows a possible move towards cryptography.Only meta Abandoned Its biggest crypto project …
Canadian authorities are struggling to seize Bitcoin from the Freedom Convoy. The Ontario Supreme Court has ordered owners of multi-signature wallets that manage donated Bitcoins to freeze their holdings, but Bitcoin is reported. Already distributed For some unidentified wallets.
The Thai SEC prohibits cryptography as a payment method. Thai Securities and Exchange Commission Said There were concerns about money laundering behind the ban, but this did not mean a massive ban on cryptography.
El Salvador has postponed Bitcoin-backed bonds. Treasury Minister Alejandro Seraya said that the country waiting Quoting Bitcoin’s volatility during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, because of “favorable financial market conditions”.
I heard
Casey NewtonEditor PlatformerBelieve that the ideal of decentralized Web3 is dying, ApeCoin The project was a perfect example of that. “The founders and investors of concessions. Overdrive hype. And there is an ongoing disconnect between the Web3 we promised and the Web3 traded on cryptocurrency exchanges.” He wrote In the newsletter..
Robin hoodThe new cash card is a debit card with savings and investment capabilities for young people with little or no credit. “My first observation is that many of these credit cards are predatory, whether intentional or not. They have low rates and so on.” Chief Product Officer Aparna Cenna Pragada Said In an interview When It is in danger.
Federal Reserve System Chair Jerome Powell We still believe that new forms of money, such as cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and even the CBDC, pose risks to the US financial system and require specific rules. “Our existing regulatory framework was not built with the digital world in mind.” He said On the panel..
Moving and employment
Mass Fintech Hub has nominated a number of CEOs on its board of directors. Public-private partnership Announce new appointmentIncludes Bob Reynolds, CEO of Putnam Investments, Mike Fanning, CEO of Mass Mutual, Bob Rivers, CEO of Eastern Bank, Snezina Zakaria, CEO of Insurize, and Mike Masaro, CEO of Flywire.
Kickstarter CEO Aziz Hasan resigns. I’m waiting Are leaving Crowdfunding company will be the interim CEO at the end of March, and COO Sean Leow will be the interim CEO until the company looks for a permanent replacement.
Bill.com has appointed Rinki Sethi as Vice President and CISO. Sethi was previously VP and CISO on Twitter and Rubrik, Lead Global information security and technology are working in her new position.
Former Stripe CMO Jim Stoneham has joined the VC company SignalFire. Stoneham, who left Stripe in October join An early-stage VC company as an operating partner, we help startups scale by “jointly creating market development strategies.”
Former Treasury official James Fries has joined MoonPay. fries I am joining Cryptographic payment company as a special adviser to regulatory matters.He was the interim CEO of German fintech wirecard suffering from scandal Director of FinCEN between the Bush and Obama administrations.
Message from the fire block
Over 1,000 institutions use Fireblock to enable their customers’ crypto and digital assets. We help teams get to market faster, minimize technical maintenance, and provide an easy-to-use cryptocurrency system. Fireblocks is becoming an out-of-the-box platform for the most innovative organizations.
Thank you for reading — see you tomorrow!
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