Forbes discusses the potential for continued fintech growth worldwide; cites a report from G.P. Bullhound highlighting the fintech industry's resilience following a challenging 2016; success from Ant Financial's $4.5 billion funding round and the firm's industry valuation are increasing confidence; investors also have a positive outlook on fintech in the UK with significant capital funding for Funding Circle, iZettle, Atom Bank and Monzo already announced this year and three top fintech unicorns (Funding Circle, Paysafe and Transferwise) all located in the region; the G.P. Bullhound report provides numerous other statistics supporting global fintech growth in 2017 and beyond. Source
SuperMoney has developed new auto loan technology to provide consumers with auto lending offers; it signed on 20 auto lenders for the product's launch and is able to provide interested borrowers with options for secured and unsecured loans, refinancings, and private-party auto loans; the firm is seeking to simplify the search process for finding an auto loan and compares its technology to current services for buying an airline ticket. Source
Lend Academy looks at the shift of returns and interest rates at LendingClub; the company recently brought F & G loans in house and there is a noticeable shift in loan grades offered by the platform. Source
California mortgage lender Opes Advisors is using proprietary software technology to help clients think more holistically about how buying a home fits into their financial plans; the company originates approximately $3 billion in mortgage loans per year and has built technology software that advises clients on comprehensive financial planning; also offering wealth management, the company provides comprehensive advisory services that are unique in the mortgage lending market. Source
Known for its personal finance and credit advice, Credit Karma has announced some new changes and initiatives with an overall rebrand; expanding on its free credit scores, credit reports and credit monitoring, the firm has launched Credit Karma Tax which will offer free tax preparation services; the service is driven by its acquisition of AFJC Corporation which provides online tax preparation solutions; with the tax offering, the firm has rebranded to convey itself as a financial assistance solutions provider; according to Credit Karma Founder and CEO Kenneth Lin, "We'll continue to add tools and features that will make Credit Karma more of a personal assistant for finance." Source
Credible is a multi-lender focused on student loans; company announced the addition of the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA) to its platform which now includes six refinancing lenders; MEFA will provide student loan refinancing through its MEFA Education Refinancing Loan; the MEFA Education Refinancing Loan is available in all 50 states, has a minimum of $10,000 and includes both fixed and variable interest rate options with the majority of rates ranging from 3.31% to 6.85%. Source
President Trump is renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and fintech is a part of the discussions; President Donald Trump requested the renegotiation with a key focus on US workers; Vanessa Rubio, undersecretary of Mexico's finance ministry, told Reuters that discussions on financial services have also been important and said, "We are not yet sure what will end up in the text of the new agreement, but we are sure that we need to have a discussion about new services, above all about the fintech industry." Source
According to a form d filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission small business lender Kabbage is in the middle of a $161mn round; the filing shows they have thus far raised a little over $80mn; this round is in addition to the $250 million investment from a subsidiary of Softbank Group in August. Source.
Estonia-based marketplace lender, Bondora, has announced plans for a new business model and system design that will change the way the company services its borrowers and investors; the changes will involve a new system design for borrowers and investors; according to Bondora, splitting the business into two separate parts will allow for greater pricing efficiency and better reporting and analytics. Source
Adyen reported an 80% increase in 2016 payment transactions with transaction volume of $90 billion; the growth was attributed to partnerships with Uber, Spotify, Airbnb, Booking.com, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn; growth is expected to continue in 2017 with contributions from new in-store payment services which it expects to grow to 50% of its business; the firm also says the European Commission's Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) will help improve business for Adyen. Source