Lend Academy

LendIt Fintech News: Daily Coverage of Fintech & Online Lending


SoFi Acquires Naming Rights to New NFL Stadium in LA

Leading fintech company, SoFi, has secured the naming rights for 20 years to the new stadium being built in Los Angeles

By Leave a Comment

Views: 264

The rumors that have been flowing for many months have been confirmed. Leading fintech company, SoFi, has acquired naming rights to the new NFL stadium being built in Los Angeles. The stadium, opening in 2020, will be home for NFL teams the LA Rams and LA Chargers. The company announced the decision in a blog post yesterday.

While SoFi would not comment officially on the amount they are paying, Bloomberg is reporting that SoFi is paying more than $30 million a year over 20 years. This is supposedly a record deal for naming rights for a sport stadium and the new stadium will be the most expensive ever built.

In this interview on CNBC SoFi CEO Anthony Noto said that the annual cost of the naming rights will be less than 10% of their total marketing budget and less than 5% of their overall budget. SoFi will be the only private, venture backed company with their name on an NFL Stadium. Noto has a history with the NFL serving as their CFO ten years ago, so he has experience being on the other side of the negotiating table during discussions for naming rights for NFL stadiums. This should have helped him in this negotiation.

The new stadium will be called SoFi Stadium (yes, it already has a Wikipedia page) and it will host the home games of both the LA Rams and the LA Chargers. In addition to these NFL games the stadium will host Superbowl LVI in 2022, the college football national championship in 2023, potentially some World Cup soccer games in 2026 and the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games in 2028.

My Take

[Read more…]

Fall Conference Season for Fintech Kicks Into Gear This Month

Fall is conference season for fintech professionals and there are many great events to choose from, here is a quick rundown

By Leave a Comment

Views: 434

Now, that Labor Day is behind us, the kids are back in school and the days are getting shorter. Fall will be here before we know it and for fintech professionals fall is conference season with a number of major events happening around the globe. While LendIt Fintech USA happens in the spring many, if not most, of the other major fintech events of the year are in the fall. Here I bring you a brief rundown of some of this season’s major fintech conferences. Where we have partnership arrangements we have provided a discount code for you. I am providing this list in chronological order.

ABS East

When: Sept 22-24, 2019
Where: Miami, FL
Link: https://www.imn.org/structured-finance/conference/ABS-East-2019/
Discount code: LEND10

The 25th annual ABS East event kicks off the fall conference season in Miami. It is the leading fall conference for the structured finance industry and they have added a fintech component to the event in recent years. Here is what ABS East has to say about their event:

ABS East attracts over 4,000 attendees annually and is the site of thousands of 1:1 private investor and issuer meetings, making it a major catalyst for structured product deal flow in the U.S. Issuers looking to market their latest offerings and investors seeking yield in the ABS market will have many opportunities to connect pre, during and post-event using our unique 1:1 meeting software, in the exhibit hall and attendee lounges, and in dedicated public and sponsor-hosted private meeting spaces. A must-attend event, ABS East is a platform that informs, engages and delivers a competitive edge for the entire U.S. structured finance community.

FinovateFall

[Read more…]

The Superior User Experience of the New Apple Card

I share my experience applying for the new Apple Card and where I think it breaks new ground

By Leave a Comment

Views: 377

I just signed up for the Apple Card. I have been fascinated by this partnership between Apple and Goldman Sachs ever since we learned about it last year. So, when it went live earlier this month I knew I had to get it.

While I may not be a true Apple fanboy I use many of their products including a Mac, iPad and iPhone. The Apple Card is designed to work seamlessly with the iPhone, in fact you must have an iPhone 6 or later to be able to apply for the Apple Card. There is no web-based application, you have to do it from inside the Wallet app.

I like to play the mileage and points game so I have several Chase and Amex credit cards and I regularly (2-3 times a year) apply for new cards. It never ceases to amaze me that, despite all the credit cards these companies issue, the online application process always feels clunky and unfriendly. They could and should make it much more simple.

The Card Application Process Felt Like Visiting the Future

This is what Apple has done. The user experience in the application process is simply superb. They have clearly thought long and hard about ways to reduce friction, especially considering you are applying on your phone. Here are some screenshots of the process: [Read more…]

Earned Wage Access Should Be Available to All Employees

The new niche industry of earned wage access has the potential to benefit millions of employees so long as it can play well with regulators

By 3 Comments

Views: 602

Like many areas of fintech, earned wage access (sometimes called earned income access or payroll advances) wasn’t really a thing until recently. Now, it is a thriving niche industry with companies such as PayActiv, Earnin, Even, DailyPay, HoneyBee and others providing offerings in this space.

In a sign that earned wage access is gaining mainstream approval Walmart signed a deal with PayActiv and Even back in 2017 to allow its workers early access to their pay. Currently over 300,000 Walmart associates take advantage of this service.

Before we go any further, I should define earned wage access. It is a mechanism for employees to get access to wages they have already earned. It breaks up the weekly, biweekly, or monthly pay cycles so workers can receive money that is rightfully theirs before payday. Typically, workers will pay a small fee for this service. Earned wage access is not credit and thus it has very little in common with traditional loan products.

Dan Quan, former head of innovation at the CFPB penned an excellent article on this topic in American Banker a couple of months ago. Here is a quote from that article (he calls it Earned Income Access – or EIA): [Read more…]

LendIt Fintech Europe 2019 Preview

The sixth annual LendIt Fintech Europe event will be in London on 26-27 September, early bird pricing ends Friday

By Leave a Comment

Views: 146

LendIt is returning to London again for the sixth annual LendIt Fintech Europe event. It will be held on 26 – 27 September at the same location as last year, the Business Design Centre. We are expecting well over 1,000 people at the event this year.

Planning has been underway now for several months and we close to finalizing the agenda. Some of the featured keynote speakers this year will be:

  • Rishi Khosla – CEO, OakNorth
  • Jaidev Janardana – CEO, Zopa
  • Anne Boden – CEO, Starling Bank
  • Rhydian Lewis – CEO, Ratesetter
  • Husayn Kassai – CEO, Onfido
  • Tamaz Georgadze – CEO, Raisin

That is just a sample of some of the fintech leaders who will be speaking. And we are working on a few more big names to add to this list, so stay tuned.

Early Bird Pricing to LendIt Fintech Europe 2019 Ends Friday

The early bird price of £1,195 is in effect until 19 July (that is this Friday as I publish this). After that the price will increase to £1,495. As always, as a Lend Academy reader you can receive an additional 15% discount by using the code LENDACADEMYVIP at checkout. The discount code is always good for 15% off but you will receive the best pricing if you purchase before midnight on 19 July. You can register now on the LendIt website.

The Best in Cutting Edge Fintech Content

[Read more…]

ABOUT LENDIT FINTECH NEWS

LendIt Fintech News, Powered by Lend Academy, has been bringing you all the news and information about fintech and online lending since 2010 when it was founded by Peter Renton. We not only have the industry’s most active news site, but also the largest investor forum and the first and most popular podcast.

We are a team of fintech enthusiasts who have been covering the industry for many years. With a deep knowledge of online lending, digital banking, blockchain, artificial intelligence and more our team covers the daily news and writes in-depth editorials.

Recent Editorials