Ant Financial announced at Money 20/20 a partnership with payment processor First Data and hardware provider Verifone; new move will expand scope of their wallet product, AliPay, into North America and Europe for wealthy Chinese travelers; AliPay has 450 million active users, totaling nearly 70% of the third party payment market in China. Source
Lending Club has announced an auto refinancing product targeting consumers; Lend Academy provides more details in their article with insight from Todd Denbo, Vice President of Consumer Auto Lending at Lending Club; Lending Club seeks to help make the auto refinancing process easier for borrowers; finds a $40 billion market for auto refinancing which it thinks will expand with greater convenience for consumers in obtaining auto refinancing. Source
An online lending startup with a unique concept has raised $500,000 in seed funding; CreditMate seeks to offer online loans for bikes and scooters in India; the company has partnered with 25 dealers in Mumbai and the process works similar to an auto loan; borrowers can identify the bike of their choice and work with the dealer for purchase and loan approval. Source
The big data technology provider raised the round from MissionOG with follow on investment from Notion Capital and Singtel Innov8; they intend to use the new funds to grow their technology and client services teams also expanding partnerships to keep up with demand from the US and Asia; DemystData provides financial institutions with a big data tech platform to make improved risk and compliance decisions. Source
Stress testing from Funding Circle has reported its loan platform would still provide investors with a net return of 6.4% given a worst case market scenario; while effects from Brexit continue to be debated, market skeptics are not as optimistic as the UK platforms; they foresee stagflation in the UK characterized by higher unemployment and slowing GDP growth; they are also concerned about a lack of skin in the game which has prompted parliament member, Chris Philp, to request from the Financial Conduct Authority that a portion of each firm's loans include balance sheet capital; while marketplace lending executives are against this approach, policy makers are considering it. Source
ID Analytics LLC has launched the Online Lending Network; launch of the network was announced at Money 20/20; network is focused on responsible lending, borrower protection and security; Lending Club, Prosper Marketplace and Marlette Funding are founding members; member firms have access to data that can help in detecting fraud and assessing risk. Source
This week, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) proposes improvements to the loosely-regulated fintech sector in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Kenya; CGAP is a global partnership of 34 leading organizations advancing financial inclusion; they note fintech companies may inappropriately publicize a borrower's personal information if they default on a loan, and others may sweep a user's social media data with minimal notice to the consumer; a key step, by law and proactive process, is to rigorously include all fintech platforms under existing laws for lenders in Kenya. Source
The Debt Exchange notes how US regulators are flagging some concern with commercial real estate investment concentrations, even as pricing shows steady demand for properties; regulators are finding bank ratios of commercial real estate loans to total risk-based-capital are approaching 300% in certain property markets (300% is possible through leverage) and loan-to-deposit ratios are approaching 100%, both flags on the risk side; the article notes that loan sales, to private investors as well as through securitizations, are an effective way to reduce these ratios. Source
In a speech at the Money 20/20 conference in Las Vegas, the head of the CFPB said he was troubled by banks who would shut off access to third-party data providers and believes consumers should have access to their data; though the agency declined to comment on the possibility of a new rule, they did make it clear that consumers should be the ones who decide when and who should have access to their data; this puts banks in a tough position as they work to comply with the current regulations and burgeoning fintech market that has given consumers a variety of technology options to use their personal data. Source
PeerStreet announced that they have crossed $150 million in originations after one year in business; the company launched at Money 20/20 last October; so far the platform has experienced zero losses, providing returns between 6% and 12%; PeerStreet's weighted portfolio loan-to-value is 65%. Source