We learned more about Walmart’s fintech plans this week, Apple decided to take on Square for merchant payments, Facebook waived Diem, UBS acquires Wealthfront, and Experian lets consumers build their own credit report. Here are what I consider to be the top ten fintech news stories of the past week.
The Walmart-backed fintech startup is acquiring two companies and a new Wall Street Journal name a neobank. And the new company will now be called ONE.
Apple to Rival Square in Turning iPhones into Bloomberg’s Payment Terminals – Apple to take on Block with upcoming iPhone update allowing any phone to be used as a payment terminal, no other hardware is necessary.
Facebook’s Cryptocurrency Business Relaxes and Sells Wall Street Journal Assets – Facebook’s ill-conceived foray into digital currencies appears to be over with the closure of the Diem Association and the sale of its assets to Silvergate Bank for $200 million.
UBS Steps Up U.S. Efforts with $1.4 Billion Purchase of Wealthfront from Reuters – Swiss asset management giant UBS, with $3.2 trillion under management, acquires robo pioneer -advisor Wealthfront, with $27 billion in assets under management, for $1.4 billion in an all-cash deal.
Experian lets consumers create their own credit reports from The Wall Street Journal – Experian gives millions of consumers without a credit history the ability to create their own from scratch using daily recurring expenses. No line of credit is required.
Plaid Launches New Privacy Platform After $58M Non-Disclosure Agreement From LendIt Fintech News – Plaid has launched a new platform, called Plaid Portal, where anyone can create an account, link their account banking and see how many places they have shared their login information.
Crypto Lending Firms Celsius Network, Bloomberg’s Gemini Face SEC Scrutiny – The SEC is stepping up its investigation into crypto platforms that pay interest on tokens, with Celsius, Gemini and Voyager all currently under scrutiny.
Esusu Goes Unicorn With SoftBank-Led $130M Vision Fund 2 From TechCrunch – The latest fintech unicorn is Esusu, a fintech that helps immigrants and minorities get credit by declaring rent payments. They closed a $130 million Series B led by SoftBank that values the company at $1 billion.
LendingClub Beats Fourth Quarter Earnings and Drives Profits with LendIt Fintech News – Earnings season has begun for fintech and LendingClub is one of the first to report it. Revenues and profits were strong, but the company was punished for giving a weaker-than-expected 2022 forecast.
Robinhood Loses $423M in Q4, Shares Fall After Hours Trading Crowdfund Insider – Robinhood had a worse quarter with a big loss, much bigger than expected, and hinted at revenue numbers lower than expected for the first quarter.
Every Thursday, the LendIt Fintech News team and a special guest discuss the week’s news live on LendIt TV, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter. We’ve now made the show available in podcast format – just click on the audio player below.
Peter Renton is President and Co-Founder of LendIt Fintech, the world’s first and largest fintech-focused digital media and events company. Peter has been writing about fintech since 2010 and is the author and creator of the Fintech One-on-One Podcast, the first and longest running fintech interview series. Peter has been interviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, New York Times, CNBC, CNN, Fortune, NPR, Fox Business News, Financial Times and dozens of other publications.