Uncle Sean's Update - 8/25/23

​Happy Friday!!!
 
GREAT news!!!!  We welcomed Tanner and Bre’s baby girl into the world this week!!!!!!  She is precious and absolutely perfect.  Both Mom and Baby are doing great (and Dad is pretty much okay too – LOL)!!!  💗🍼  Here is the Uncle Sean Update for 8/25/23:
 

• Hey, hey – shout out to Third Coast Bank as the latest innovative bank to join The BaaS Association!!!!

 

• ICYMI….  Here are Federal Reserve Chairman Powell’s comments from the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium related to Fed Policy on inflation.   Some key takeaways from a relatively hawkish presentation:
  • (stop me if you’ve heard this narrative before – LOL) Inflation has come down, but is still running too hot.  “We are prepared to raise rates further if appropriate, and intend to hold policy at a restrictive level until we are confident that inflation is moving sustainably down toward our objective.”
  • Strong labor market remains a point of emphasis…  “rebalancing of the labor market has continued over the past year but remains incomplete.”
  • Housing services inflation is beginning to ease, but watching cautiously…  “market rent slowdown has only recently begun to show through to that measure…  Going forward, if market rent growth settles near pre-pandemic levels, housing services inflation should decline toward its pre-pandemic level as well.”
  • CNBC also has a good summary.

 

• Meanwhile…..  Keep an eye on that 10-year Treasury yield as mortgage rates hit the highest level in over two decades….  😮

 

• Five Star Bank announced a partnership with Autobooks to launch contactless payments (tap-to-pay) acceptance for its small business customers using only an iPhone and the Five Star Bank Digital Banking mobile app (no extra terminals or hardware needed).  Cool!!!! 😎

 

• Treasury Prime (embedded BaaS platform) announced a partnership with Liberty Bank, National Association (FDIC 35331; Total Assets $599M) to provide sponsor bank services to customers in the fintech space.

 

• Edward Jones become the latest nationally recognized brand to jump into embedded finance by offering checking and savings accounts via embedded finance partnership with Citi beginning in 2024.

 

• PayNearMe significantly expands their national footprint via partnership with Dollar General allowing “billers, such as auto lenders – to enable their customers to pay their bill at the register at Dollar General’s 19,000 stores nationwide. Customers simply present a scannable barcode on their smartphone to a cashier, pay in cash and receive a receipt verifying the transaction is complete.”
  • Could also be viewed as an interesting enhancement to Dollar General’s fintech / embedded finance strategy to bring in more foot traffic (reference Dollar General Spendwell consumer banking platform).  😊

 

• 👀 While we watch CC debt totals in the US surpass $1T (yep, Trillion with a T), Changed (known for their debt repayment solutions) has launched a new credit card debt payoff feature within the app to automate accelerated debt payoff.  Check them out at gochanged.com. 

 

• Current jumps into the credit side by launching a credit builder product with Cross River Bank to help Current’s 4+ million members to build their credit histories via secured charge card.

 

• Savi Financial obtains FDIC approval for Washington state chartered de novo named Orca Bank – congrats!!!!!

 

• The CFPB has sued lending conglomerate, CURO Group citing the illegal churning of loans to harvest hundreds of millions in loan costs and fees.  The CFPB alleges that “the company – which operates under a variety of trade names, including Covington Credit, Southern Finance, and Quick Credit – identifies borrowers who are struggling to repay their existing loans, and then aggressively pushes them to refinance.”
  • CURO posted a response to the CFPB complaint clarifying that the allegations related to “certain small loans originated by Heights Finance’s subsidiaries prior to its acquisition in 2021.”  They went on to state that “CURO denies the allegations and will vigorously defend its business practices.”

 

• Better had a tough SPAC IPO as shares plunged more than 90% in first day trading….  😬

 

• FIS (NYSE: FIS) announced the hiring of James Kehoe as Chief Financial Officer succeeding Erik Hoag who is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities.

 

• Notable FinTech funding for the week:
  • Ramp (corporate spend platform) raised a massive $300M in Series D round at a reduced valuation of $5.8B.
  • Koverly (B2B international payments) raised $7.6M in Seed funding.
  • LemFi (neo-immigrant banking app for African immigrants) raised $33M in Series A funding round.

 
 
Random Uncle Sean stuff:

• WOW - Sha’Carri Richardson (USA) pulls in a blistering 10.65 personal best to win her first 100M World Championship!  Watch it here as she destroys the field in the last 40 meters in lane 9 for a come-from-behind win.  Amazing!!!!
• Not sure how I feel about the arrival of Pumpkin Spice Latte while it’s still 108 degrees outside!!!  🤢
• We made it!!!!  College football starts tomorrow!!!!!  🏈  Check out the schedule here.
• Alright, you can stop scrolling down now… 😝
  • Teenagers sure do have expensive taste for someone who can’t afford to buy their own toothpaste!!!
  • If I die and come back as a hillbilly, is that reintarnation???  I love that one!!!!  😂🤣
  • The spelling bee was cansell… cansi… cansca…  It was called off - LOL!!!
  • Pasteurize = too far to see…

 
 
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 [email protected] | 214-604-6961 – or you can contact FedFis Sales Team at 512-960-0911 | [email protected] #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.