Happy Friday!!!
Crazy to think that we are closing out the third quarter and starting 4Q2023 already – time certainly goes by fast!!! Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 9/29/23:
BIG news from our friends at Atomic this week as they announced the launch of PayLink that streamlines payment switching, making it easier for consumers to switch their primary banking relationship. Atomic’s website does a great job of highlighting PayLink’s multiple use cases for Financial Institutions (“accelerate the path to primary customer status” – of HUGE importance to Direct Digital Banks), NeoBanks and FinTech companies, Credit Card Issuers (another huge win), and other industry partners as we move towards more of an open banking environment in the US; and empowering consumers with their own user-permissioned control. Love it!!!!
Another interesting product launch this week – Experian has joined the fintech brand space by launching Experian Smart Money™ mobile banking app with Mastercard debit card. The cool feature of this app is that the bank account is automatically connected to Experian Boost® which searches certain debit transactions for automatic reporting to credit bureaus (such as rent, utilities, etc.) to help increase the customers credit score without the need to incur debt. Very nice!!!
👀 For my really wild finance and treasury freaks (you know who you are 😊 – as I look in the mirror and wink at myself – LOL)…. Increases at the longer end is beginning to flatten the yield curve. The 10 Year Treasury yield has increased a whopping 17.7% YTD from a 12/29/22 closing of 3.879% to 4.567% at the close on 9/28/23…. Even more crazy than that is the realization that all of that has been over the last 60+ days (7/21 close was 3.837%) 😬 – source: cnbc.com/quotes/US10Y
Biz2X (subsidiary of Biz2Credit) announced a new partnership with TAB Bank to streamline the banks SMB loan decisioning and operations.
Credibly (SMB financing) announced the launch of Credibly Business Checking® via partnership with Green Dot Bank to add small business banking to complement Credibly’s existing lending solutions.
Veem (global provider of business payable and receivable solutions) announced the launch of Visa virtual cards for small businesses in the US issued by Pathward and powered by Marqeta.
Our friends at the OCC released their bank supervision operating plan for fiscal year (FY) 2024. Pretty easy read at only 5 pages – Couple of key items that jumped out at me:No real surprise that asset and liability management takes center stage with an emphasis on managing interest rate and liquidity risks.From an operations standpoint, third-party relationships are a hot topic “particularly those with financial technology (fintech) companies” – and also specifically mentioning “banking-as-a-service arrangements” (bold emphasis added by Uncle Sean).
FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg stated that changes to deposit insurance amounts unlikely at a conference this week. “While there was considerable interest in the immediate aftermath of the bank failures earlier this year, that has dissipated with time. At this point, there does not seem to be any imminent likelihood of changes to deposit insurance coverage in the U.S.,” Gruenberg said.
Monit announced the integration with Narmi’s Business Digital Banking platform as a white-labeled solution to offer modern cash flow tools and insights to SMB clients.
Deluxe partners with Aliaswire, Inc. to integrate Aliaswire’s DirectBiller bill payment technology across the extensive Deluxe network of banks, partners, and direct clients.
Camino Financial (CDFI) and Fundation announced they are merging to create a new, full spectrum SMB lender providing credit solutions to fund the growth of small businesses.
As a government shutdown appears inevitable, it certainly comes at an awkward time (I guess there isn’t really a “good” time) as the next FOMC meeting to discuss interest rates is Oct 31 – Nov 1 considering much of the economic data that the FOMC uses to set interest rate policy comes from government entities… This includes:The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is the hub of much of the government’s data and will “completely cease operations” in the event of a shutdown, sending all 2,350 employees home.The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will also shut down.Means no CPI, Jobs Report, weekly jobless claims, PCE, GDP, etc….Aside from the above government programs, perhaps the most concerning is the furlough 80% of staff from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency degrading its ability to provide timely and actionable information to help partner organizations defend their computer networks per this Department of Homeland Security FACT SHEET. YIKES!!!!
Notable FinTech funding for the week:Bright Money raised $62M in funding consisting of $50M in debt financing and a $12M Series B equity round.PortX (financial services infrastructure) raised $16.5M in Series B round and forms a CUSO subsidiary for Credit Unions.Slope (B2B payments) raised $30M in equity round $30M in equity round adding that “both volume and company revenue have increased 17x since last year.”
Random Uncle Sean stuff:
Usher to headline the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show.Have you heard about the saltwater wedge in the Mississippi River? Pretty wild, and another impact from our historic drought conditions in the upper Mississippi River Valley.Okay – some quick Dad / bad jokes to kick off the weekend:There is nothing more magical than hearing a child’s laugh…. Unless you are home alone! 😲Never yell into a colander…. You’ll strain your voice…I don’t know why the chicken crossed the road… But the rooster joined a band because he had drumsticks…. 🐓Not to brag too much, but the credit card company told me that my balance was outstanding…. Well, thank you! 😝
Have a GREAT weekend and please stay safe!!!
Uncle Sean
Sometimes known as Sean Mayo – contact me directly for scope and pricing of custom reports / analysis projects at smayo@fedfis.com | 214-604-6961 – or you can contact FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | info@fedfis.com #FedFisHasTheData FedFis
FedFis, LLC disclaimer – The views and opinions of Uncle Sean are of his own and may not necessarily represent the views, endorsements, and/or opinions of FedFis, LLC – we all know he’s a little bit different; but that’s why we love him.
Crazy to think that we are closing out the third quarter and starting 4Q2023 already – time certainly goes by fast!!! Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 9/29/23:
BIG news from our friends at Atomic this week as they announced the launch of PayLink that streamlines payment switching, making it easier for consumers to switch their primary banking relationship. Atomic’s website does a great job of highlighting PayLink’s multiple use cases for Financial Institutions (“accelerate the path to primary customer status” – of HUGE importance to Direct Digital Banks), NeoBanks and FinTech companies, Credit Card Issuers (another huge win), and other industry partners as we move towards more of an open banking environment in the US; and empowering consumers with their own user-permissioned control. Love it!!!!
Another interesting product launch this week – Experian has joined the fintech brand space by launching Experian Smart Money™ mobile banking app with Mastercard debit card. The cool feature of this app is that the bank account is automatically connected to Experian Boost® which searches certain debit transactions for automatic reporting to credit bureaus (such as rent, utilities, etc.) to help increase the customers credit score without the need to incur debt. Very nice!!!
👀 For my really wild finance and treasury freaks (you know who you are 😊 – as I look in the mirror and wink at myself – LOL)…. Increases at the longer end is beginning to flatten the yield curve. The 10 Year Treasury yield has increased a whopping 17.7% YTD from a 12/29/22 closing of 3.879% to 4.567% at the close on 9/28/23…. Even more crazy than that is the realization that all of that has been over the last 60+ days (7/21 close was 3.837%) 😬 – source: cnbc.com/quotes/US10Y
Biz2X (subsidiary of Biz2Credit) announced a new partnership with TAB Bank to streamline the banks SMB loan decisioning and operations.
Credibly (SMB financing) announced the launch of Credibly Business Checking® via partnership with Green Dot Bank to add small business banking to complement Credibly’s existing lending solutions.
Veem (global provider of business payable and receivable solutions) announced the launch of Visa virtual cards for small businesses in the US issued by Pathward and powered by Marqeta.
Our friends at the OCC released their bank supervision operating plan for fiscal year (FY) 2024. Pretty easy read at only 5 pages – Couple of key items that jumped out at me:No real surprise that asset and liability management takes center stage with an emphasis on managing interest rate and liquidity risks.From an operations standpoint, third-party relationships are a hot topic “particularly those with financial technology (fintech) companies” – and also specifically mentioning “banking-as-a-service arrangements” (bold emphasis added by Uncle Sean).
FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg stated that changes to deposit insurance amounts unlikely at a conference this week. “While there was considerable interest in the immediate aftermath of the bank failures earlier this year, that has dissipated with time. At this point, there does not seem to be any imminent likelihood of changes to deposit insurance coverage in the U.S.,” Gruenberg said.
Monit announced the integration with Narmi’s Business Digital Banking platform as a white-labeled solution to offer modern cash flow tools and insights to SMB clients.
Deluxe partners with Aliaswire, Inc. to integrate Aliaswire’s DirectBiller bill payment technology across the extensive Deluxe network of banks, partners, and direct clients.
Camino Financial (CDFI) and Fundation announced they are merging to create a new, full spectrum SMB lender providing credit solutions to fund the growth of small businesses.
As a government shutdown appears inevitable, it certainly comes at an awkward time (I guess there isn’t really a “good” time) as the next FOMC meeting to discuss interest rates is Oct 31 – Nov 1 considering much of the economic data that the FOMC uses to set interest rate policy comes from government entities… This includes:The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is the hub of much of the government’s data and will “completely cease operations” in the event of a shutdown, sending all 2,350 employees home.The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will also shut down.Means no CPI, Jobs Report, weekly jobless claims, PCE, GDP, etc….Aside from the above government programs, perhaps the most concerning is the furlough 80% of staff from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency degrading its ability to provide timely and actionable information to help partner organizations defend their computer networks per this Department of Homeland Security FACT SHEET. YIKES!!!!
Notable FinTech funding for the week:Bright Money raised $62M in funding consisting of $50M in debt financing and a $12M Series B equity round.PortX (financial services infrastructure) raised $16.5M in Series B round and forms a CUSO subsidiary for Credit Unions.Slope (B2B payments) raised $30M in equity round $30M in equity round adding that “both volume and company revenue have increased 17x since last year.”
Random Uncle Sean stuff:
Usher to headline the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show.Have you heard about the saltwater wedge in the Mississippi River? Pretty wild, and another impact from our historic drought conditions in the upper Mississippi River Valley.Okay – some quick Dad / bad jokes to kick off the weekend:There is nothing more magical than hearing a child’s laugh…. Unless you are home alone! 😲Never yell into a colander…. You’ll strain your voice…I don’t know why the chicken crossed the road… But the rooster joined a band because he had drumsticks…. 🐓Not to brag too much, but the credit card company told me that my balance was outstanding…. Well, thank you! 😝
Have a GREAT weekend and please stay safe!!!
Uncle Sean
Sometimes known as Sean Mayo – contact me directly for scope and pricing of custom reports / analysis projects at smayo@fedfis.com | 214-604-6961 – or you can contact FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | info@fedfis.com #FedFisHasTheData FedFis
FedFis, LLC disclaimer – The views and opinions of Uncle Sean are of his own and may not necessarily represent the views, endorsements, and/or opinions of FedFis, LLC – we all know he’s a little bit different; but that’s why we love him.
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