Uncle Sean's Update - 2/10/23

​Happy Friday!!!
 
Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 2/10/23:
 

• On the heels of the stunning +517K jobs report last week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated earlier this week that while the disinflation process has begun, it has a long way to go.
  • Powell stated, “We expect 2023 to be a year of significant declines in inflation. It’s actually our job to make sure that that’s the case,” he said. “My guess is it will take certainly into not just this year, but next year to get down close to 2%.”
    • When the FOMC meets again on March 21-22 (this meeting is also associated with a Summary of Economic Projections), they will have another full month of jobs and inflation data to guide its next rate-hike decision.

 

• A high-five to Computer Services, Inc. (CSI) as they announced Banking-as-a-Service partnerships with ECHO Health, Inc. and MOCA Financial, Inc. via CSI’s prebuilt API platform.
  • In short, if you are a fintech or a financial institution, there is no need to go to the outsourced connector/middleware model when compliant ready regtech solutions are available.

 

• Finzly announced API connection to access FedNow Service instant payment platform launching mid-2023.

 

• Capitalizing on Pay-by-Bank services, Sionic announced the launch of trust-based services for bank-to-bank, Verified Rapid Payments™ to solve for fraud concerns that are prevalent in P2P payments in the U.S. “whether on The RTP® Network or upcoming FedNow™ bank rails.”

 

• It is being reported that Apple is actively beta testing their BNPL offering with their own retail employees, fueling speculation that the product will officially launch soon.

 

• Some big names on the move this week:
  • Stash names Liza Landsman as CEO.
  • Neural Payments welcomes Bill Hampton as CRO.
  • FinWise Bank hires Robert Keil as SVP, Chief Fintech Officer.
  • Pipe announced Luke Voiles as CEO.

 

• On the regulatory crypto front, The Federal Reserve Board issued their final rule stating that banks (regardless if state or national chartered) do not have permission “to hold most crypto-assets, including Bitcoin and Ether, as principal, in any amount,” but can hold them in a custodial capacity “in a safe and sound manner and in compliance with consumer, anti-money-laundering and anti-terrorist financing laws.”
  • Skadden has a really good summary of the Feds recent cautious and restrictive approach related to crypto-assets both to institutions engaged in them and the broader financial system.

 

• Kraken to pay $30M fine and discontinue U.S. crypto staking operations a part of a settlement with the SEC that had accused Kraken of failing to register the service as a security.  CNBC has a good summary.
  • SEC Chief Gary Gensler stated, “Today’s action should make clear to the marketplace that staking-as-a-service providers must register and provide full, fair, and truthful disclosure and investor protection.”
    • Yep….  Uncle Sean is guessing we will see much more of this SEC enforcement now under the precedent of unregistered securities.

 

• The CFPB issued an advisory opinion and a warning to mortgage comparison sites stating if the site “provides enhanced placement or otherwise steers consumers” to certain operators based on compensation, an operator could be in violation of the RESPA section 8.

 

• The U.S. Department of the Treasury released a report this week on the benefits and challenges of cloud services in the financial sector. 
  • The punchline is the need for “more visibility, staff support, and cybersecurity incident response engagement from Cloud Service Providers (CSPs). The report also recommends further evaluation from Treasury and the broader financial regulatory community to continue to determine the financial risks associated with a limited number of providers offering cloud services.”  Oh yeah, good ole fashioned vendor concentration risk… 😲
    • You can read the full 71 page report here - The Financial Services Sector's Adoption of Cloud Services.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Car IQ (vehicle payments) raised $15M in additional oversubscribed Series B
  • Fierce (neo / challenger fintech app) launched from stealth with $10M in Seed funding.  The Fierce app includes a tiered, interest-earning variable rate dda account earning up to 4.25% APY, a no-fee Mastercard debit card, and SIPC investing in stocks and ETFs.  Crypto trading and the 1.5% cash back credit card are coming soon.
  • Blip Labs (embedded intelligent bill pay platform) raised $2.1M in Seed funding.
  • Nevly Money (credit repair and PFM app) launches with $1.25M in pre-seed funding round.
  • Upwardli (credit builder and savings app) raised $2M Seed Round to help “credit invisibles” quickly establish and build their U.S. credit score enabling access to basic financial services.
  • Canoe (alt investment intelligence platform) $25M in Series B round.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean Stuff:

• It’s SUPER BOWL WEEKEND!!!! 
  • Can we all just agree that Monday needs to be a National Holiday?  C’MON MAN!!!!!
• URGENT PSA - Not sure who needs to hear this, but Valentine’s Day is a mere two days after the Super Bowl…..   You’re welcome!!!
• Because sometimes you just have to laugh, here is a recap of some of the best Chinese (alleged) Surveillance Balloon jokes from this week:
  • NENA – 99… wait, err, I mean…. 98 Luftballons 😝
  • For my Star Wars fans - “That’s no moon…!!!”
  • “The balloon floated from Montana to South Carolina. Somehow it got across the country faster than someone flying Southwest.” — JIMMY FALLON
  • “Just to screw with Fox News, Biden should have announced that he was inviting the balloon to appear in this year’s Thanksgiving Day parade.” — SETH MEYERS
  • Today America took down that Chinese air balloon….  Good to see the current administration fighting inflation.  LOL!!!
  • Maybe the funniest thing I saw (Uncle Sean admits to having an odd sense of humor at times) – you can literally search “Chinese Spy Balloon jokes on TikTok” – yep, TikTok…  Ahhh the irony…  LOL….  😊

 
 
Have a GREAT Super Bowl weekend, a wonderful upcoming Valentine’s Day, 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.