Uncle Sean's Update - March 5

Happy Friday!!!!!

March is Women’s History Month and March 8th is International Women’s Day!!!!  May we all harness the amazing strength, wisdom, and compassion of the late and Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg (the “Notorious RBG”) and continue to make the world a better place!
Here is the rest of the Uncle Sean Update for 3/5/21:

• The Federal Reserve appointed Sunayna Tuteja as Chief Innovation Officer.  Tuteja’s most recent experience involves more than a decade at TD Ameritrade included being head of strategic partnerships and emerging technology; and eventually as Head of Digital Assets and Digital Ledger Technology.  Undoubtedly a strategic hire as the central bank continues to research Stablecoins and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).  This follows a similar announcement (Chief Innovation Officer) at the FDIC just a few weeks ago.

 

• Square Financial Services announced that they have officially begun banking operations under their Utah ILC bank charter.  Approval with Utah DFI and the FDIC was achieved back in March of 2020, but they just now began operating under the charter.  The primary purpose of the bank will be to offer business loans and deposit products.  Initially targeting the underwriting and origination of business loans for Square Capital’s existing lending product; and eventually being the loan provider for Square sellers across the U.S.

 

• Square also dropped $297M in cash and stock to acquire a majority stake in Tidal, a music streaming service.  Yep – it seemed a little weird to me too, but TechCrunch has a very interesting article that speculates into the possibility of Square moving into music-based non-fungible tokens (NFTs).  All the cool kids are doing it (and “non-fungible” is fun to say)!

 

• Well, the pending Walmart fintech startup (that has been frustratingly vague in detail) just got a little bit more interesting….  In what appears to be a nod to the success of Marcus, Walmart has recruited Omer Ismail (the former head of Goldman Sachs’ consumer banking unit) and David Stark to lead the new fintech venture.

 

• Check out this financial literacy app called [Zogo]Zogo.  It is designed for the younger Gen Z crowd and provides financial education in a gaming type format.  You earn “pineapple points” as you successfully complete fun and intuitive quizzes and learning objectives.  You eventually redeem the reward points for actual $5 gift cards (or you can even donate to charity).  Amex announced this week that they are joining up with Zogo as well.  Pretty cool concept and definitely a worthy cause that Uncle Sean supports!!!  Side note - If you are “seasoned” like me and have a tendency to still think that all Millennials are 18 to 20 year old kids in college, here is a good “generational refresher” from our friends at Kasasa.  

 

• SEC chair nominee, Gary Gensler spoke towards promoting cryptocurrency technology while ensuring investor protections during his confirmation hearing this week before the Senate Banking Committee.  “It’s important for the SEC to provide guidance and clarity,” Gensler said. “Sometimes that’s a clarity that will be a thumbs up, but even if it’s thumbs down, it’s important to provide that.”  Yep – I’m pretty sure Ripple would agree with you! LOL

 

• CFPB nominee, Rohit Chopra took a firm stance during his Senate Banking Committee confirmation hearing pledging a strong hand on fair lending and mortgage servicing, stiffer penalties for fraud and misconduct, and a watchful eye on big tech.  Just in case you thought they were kidding, check out the CFPB’s ad seeking attorneys - WHEW!!!

 

• An exciting new industry group called the American Fintech Council (AFC) was formed this week per a merger between Marketplace Lending Association (MLA) and Online Lending Policy Institute (OLPI).  Phil Goldfelder (SVP, Public Affairs for Cross River and founding member of OLPI and friend of FedFis) explained as part of this [American%20Fin]press release, "responsible innovation and putting the interests of customers first are not mutually exclusive—you can do both, while ensuring an inclusive marketplace that benefits everyone. AFC will continue and expand on the mission of OLPI by working with policymakers, industry groups, consumer advocates, and civil rights organizations to foster dialogue that will curtail abusive lending practices and find avenues that help consumers continue to gain access to responsible credit. "  Attaboy Phil!!!!

 

• MoneyLion expands their digital platform “where Americans can easily bank, borrow, save and invest – all in one place” by acquiring Wealth Technologies, Inc. (WTI), an algorithmic financial planning technology firm.  MoneyLion will integrate WTI’s proprietary “fGPS® Financial Goals Positioning System” and provide advice via predictive analytics encompassing the members full picture of spending, credit, and investing by analyzing personal assets, liabilities, income, and expense.  Sounds cool!

 

• Plaid is launching Plaid Income, an income verification tool that is currently in beta, that allows lenders to “quickly and reliably retrieve a consumer’s permissioned income data straight from the source.”

 

• Mobility Capital Finance (MoCaFi) raised $12M Series A funding round.  [MoCaFI]MoCaFi is an African-American owned fintech company with a mobile banking app that also provides credit building / reporting (specifically rent payments through their Bill Pay feature) and financial coaching.

Sneak Peak - Stay tuned next week when FedFis is expected to release the long awaited Bank Core Processor Market Share report!!!!

Random Uncle Sean Stuff:

• The Law of Unintended Consequences…???  Over the last few years, Aunt Patty hasn’t been very happy about Uncle Sean getting on top of an 8’ ladder with a chainsaw, which I tend to do from time to time in order to prune random tree limbs.  Out of safety and concern for my well-being (as well as a few years of chewing me out and reminding me that I am no spring chicken), she finally convinced me to get a pole saw that can reach 12’.  WOW – you should see how high I can get now on top of that 8’ ladder with a 12’ pole saw!!!!.....  And that, my friends, is just another reason why women typically have a longer life expectancy than men.  LOL!!!!

 
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
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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.