See the top banking headlines during the last week brought to you byMX, a fintech company that enables you to collect, enhance, present, and act on data.
Fintech funding jumps to record US $5.2bn in Q2
Fintech funding is hot around the world, particularly in the United States, where 5 additional financial technology companies became unicorns (companies with a valuation of more than a billion dollars) in Q2, bringing the total to 26.
Explosion of fintech firms raises new regulatory questions
“Regulators are scrambling to catch up with the explosive growth of fintechs and non-bank financial institutions, while also grappling with the bigger question of whether more oversight is needed to create a more level playing field.”
Wells Fargo to test new digital product with employees this year
Wells Fargo announced that they'll be testing what they call the "Control Tower" — a digital platform that lets customers see everywhere their Wells Fargo accounts are connected. This way if a customer needs to change their card info at sites like Amazon or Netflix, they can sign into Wells Fargo and do it. Customers can also select which companies they want to share financial info with and which ones they don't.
“UniCredit, Italy's No. 1 bank, said hackers took biographical and loan data from 400,000 client accounts in one of the biggest breaches of European banking security this year,” writes American Banker. Breaches like this should keep all financial institutions everywhere on their toes, priortizing security measures.
“Aswath Damodaran, professor of finance at the New York University, known as Wall Street’s “dean of valuation”, has said that among the younger generation, digital currencies have replaced gold as a choice of investment and that, sooner or later, currencies such as bitcoin and ethereum will compete against nation-state paper currencies.”
“Building a digital payment solution using a bank membership model, Zelle is the newest in a series of simple, free and ubiquitous digital payment options that leverage a mobile app, replacing cash, checks, or cards, within a network of friends and acquaintances.”
The battle between banks and disruptors is just beginning
Chris Skinner writes, "the fight for the future of banking is going to be between a host of new digital players and a few large banks that find it hard to change, but are adapting as fast as they can."
