Uncle Sean's Update - 4/30/21

Happy Friday!!!!
 
WOW – I can’t believe it is the last day of April already.  This month went by like a flash!  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 4/30/21:
 

• It’s Fed Week!!!!!  As expected, the Federal Reserve voted unanimously to keep rates near zero, continue the $120B per month bond buying program, and gave no indication that things will change anytime soon.  Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the recovery is accelerating, but is “uneven and far from complete.”  While he noted that inflation pressures could rise in the coming months, these “one-time increases in prices are likely to only have transitory effects on inflation.”  I like this new completely transparent Fed.  If you want to completely geek out (like me) even more – here is the link to the Federal Reserve press release; and CNBC has a good summary as always.

 

• Nymbus makes headlines again this week with the announcement that Nymbus CUSO raises $20M investment by VyStar Credit Union marking the “industry’s largest-ever fintech funding round made on behalf of a credit union.”  “Based on the overwhelming response that Nymbus CUSO has already received in the market, we clearly address an overlooked opportunity for helping credit unions play to their strengths and make serious growth gains without breaking their technology budgets,” said Jeffery Kendall, Chairman and CEO of Nymbus.

 

• The Big Boys are making news this week:
  • Fiserv announced their new relationship with PayPal for POS touch-free payments.  “Small and mid-sized businesses using Clover® and large enterprises leveraging the Carat omnichannel commerce ecosystem from Fiserv will be able to accept payment via PayPal and Venmo through QR codes presented at the point of sale. Consumers will be able to initiate payment by scanning the QR code with their PayPal or Venmo app, and will receive a digital receipt.”
  • FIS announced the launch of RealNet, a real-time payments (RTP) platform.  Using a “smart-routing decision engine," FIS RealNet “identifies the fastest, most cost-efficient payments option for a given transaction in real time — whether ACH, same-day ACH, wires or RTP — and automates the end-to-end process.”

 

• SoFi announced an “industry first” option to redeem SoFi Credit Card reward points directly into cryptocurrency via SoFi Invest platform.

 

• Barclays US to offer BNPL solution by partnering with Amount.

 

• Stripe announced an agreement to acquire TaxJar (a provider of sales tax software for online businesses) in response to users requesting assistance in navigating sales tax issues.

 

• Gemini announced that they have selected Mastercard for their summer launch of their crypto rewards credit card (issued by WebBank).

 

• There was a lot of funding in the rapidly growing teen banking app space this week:
  • Current raised $220M in Series D funding round with a $2.2B valuation just 5 months from their previous round in November that valued the company at $750M – yes, that’s a 3x valuation increase in only 5 months!!!  To be fair, Current has grown to 3M users after hitting 1M just last summer.  While Current began as a teen banking app, they have evolved into serving more Gen Z and younger millennials (average customer age is 27).  CNBC Closing Bell has a good interview with Current CEO, Stuart Sopp.
  • Step, a teen credit builder app, raised $100M in Series C funding round after growing to 1.5M users just 6 months after official launch. 
  • Greenlight raised $260M in Series D funding round and increases the company's valuation from $1.2 billion to $2.3 billion in a six-month period.  Greenlight says it has "more than tripled" YOY revenue and serves more than 3M parents and kids.

 

• Brex raises $425M in Series D funding round led by Tiger Global.  The article states “In Q1 2021 alone, Brex grew total customers by 80% with total monthly customer additions increasing by 5x. SMBs now account for 45% of customers on the Brex platform.”  This latest round brings total funding to $1.2B at a $7.4B valuation.

 

• ZenGo (a non-custodial mobile app / wallet to manage your cryptocurrency holdings) raised $20M in Series A and is planning to launch a Visa credit card.

 

• Paxos raises $300M in Series D with a valuation of $2.4B.

 

• Rho Technologies (business banking fintech) raises $100M debt financing.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean Stuff:

• Is it odd that I have reading glasses AND a magnifying glass at my desk; and that I sometimes have to use both at the same time?
• Two favorite things I read this week (I couldn’t narrow it down to just one):
  • Years from now when young kids ask me how we survived the Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020, I’m gonna tell them that we had to drag our butts across the lawn…  barefoot…  in the snow…  uphill…  both ways…  LOL!!!!!
  • Spring-time allergies in the Texas Hill Country are so bad, local drug dealers are busy converting Meth back into Sudafed!!!

 
 
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.
​