Uncle Sean's Update - 8/19/22

​Happy Friday!!!
 
FinTech | Banking | Data is what we do and who we are.  Don’t forget to sign up here to have the Uncle Sean Update delivered straight to your inbox each week.  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 8/19/22:
 

• Huge shout out to Choice Bank and Tim Heilman as the latest leading institution to join the BHB Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) Association as a founding member!!! 

 

• Another CU acquiring a bank – Harvesters Credit Union (Charter 68726; total assets $275M) to acquire First National Bank Northwest Florida (FDIC 25122; total assets $239M).
  • This marks 10 announced acquisitions of a bank by a CU so far for the year.  This compares to 13 in 2021, 7 in 2020, and 16 in 2019 (Source: FedFis).

 

• Meanwhile, GreenState Credit Union announced the termination of the merger agreement with Premier Bank after a state judge sided with and affirmed the decision of the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance (NDBF) to deny the merger application.

 

• eToro (social investing platform) to acquire Gatsby (a commission-free options and stock-trading app aimed at younger traders via payment for order flow) for $50M and scales eToro’s US business – clearly taking aim at Robinhood.
  • If you get a chance, check out that eToro demo account that allows you learn and trade via a $100K fake account in real-time.

 

• Synapse (BaaS connector) announces partnership with Lineage Bank to expand BaaS services for fintech companies. 

 

• Bond (BaaS connector) launched a Credit Builder Card to make it fast and easy for fintech companies to offer a secured credit card to their customers. 
  • Per the Bond.tech Blog, the secured credit card is a Mastercard issued by Evolve Bank & Trust; and in partnership with Bloom Credit who reports the payments to the credit agencies just like a regular CC to “help consumers establish and improve their FICO Score.”

 

• WebBank announced an agreement with America Express to become a card issuer and participant in the American Express network.  “American Express selected WebBank as one of its key issuing banks focused on the fintech industry…  WebBank plans to begin issuing Amex cards through fintechs later this year.”

 

• Hello Alice (free platform to help small business owners in the US start and grow) launched the Hello Alice Small Business Mastercard credit card issued by First National Bank of Omaha.  The card is part of Hello Alice’s larger Equitable Access to Capital program that “provides all of the financial products, tools, and education for owners to scale their businesses, including its own grant fund providing security deposits for high-potential but credit-challenged small business owners.”  Very cool!!!  😊

 

• Bankjoy (online and mobile digital banking provider) announced they have joined the Jack Henry™ Vendor Integration Program (VIP); and will now integrate with JH Symitar via jXchange™.
  • Basically allows JKHY customers on Symitar core an easy integration to Bankjoy’s digital platform.

 

• First Internet Bank takes aim at some of the fintech challenger / neo business banks by launching Do More Business Checking allowing small business customers to link personal and business accounts (including those at other institutions) for an aggregated 360 view of their finances that also includes credit cards, savings, and investments.
  • Ahhh – the ability to track all of your finances in one place….  NICE!!!  Check it out here.

 

• BankProv (NASDAQ: PVBC; The Provident Bank, FDIC 90141) announced strategic integration with Republic (alt investment platform and crowdfunding marketplace) to provide escrow accounts through BankProv’s BaaS offering via Treasury Prime.

 

• The FDIC continues their public campaign on deposit insurance clarification this week by issuing Cease and Desist letters to five companies for making crypto-related false or misleading representations about deposit insurance.  YIKES!!!  Here are the respective letters by name:
  • Cryptonews.com
  • Cryptosec.info
  • SmartAsset.com
  • FTX US
  • fdiccrypto.com

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Arc (SaaS revenue financing platform) raised $20M in Series A funding round to continue to help software startups grow and more efficiently deploy capital.
  • BankiFi (embedded banking platform for SMB’s) raised $4.8M in capital to fund their expansion to the US.
  • Pomelo (consumer focused international money transfer solution via credit) raised $70M in Capital consisting of a $50M credit facility and a $20M Seed round to provide instant international consumer access to cash via credit sponsored by Mastercard.
  • Bluetape (payments and financing for the construction industry) raised $55M in capital consisting of $50M in debt financing and a $5M Seed round.
  • Highbeam (ecommerce business banking) raised $7M in Seed funding.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean Stuff:

• NOOOO – say it isn’t so!!!  Looks like Dodge will be discontinuing the Challenger and Charger muscle car lines next year in favor of more fuel efficient vehicle production.
• I think we are finally starting to exit the dog days of summer – WHEW!!!
  • We had a reprieve of the 100+ degree days and actually saw a little bit of rain this week – it didn’t last long and it wasn’t nearly enough, but I’ll take it! 
  • College Football kicks off next week on 8/27 (check out the ESPN Schedule and the AP Top 25 College Football Poll).  Labor Day weekend is only two weeks away, and Dove season arrives in Central Texas.  Good times!!!
• And some Dad Jokes to get us into the weekend vibe:
  • Little known fact - Many pirates purchase their hooks from “second-hand” stores….  Ohhh, I know – that was awful..  LOL!!!  😝
  • The adjective for metal is metallic, but not so for iron, which is ironic…
  • The secret to enjoying a good wine:
    • First, open the bottle and allow it to breathe.
    • If it doesn’t appear to be breathing, immediately give it mouth-to-mouth – and don’t be afraid to use both hands!
      • Be sure to follow Uncle Sean for more tips on how to be elegant, classy, and sophisticated!!!  BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!  😊

 
 
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.