During the week I share the latest marketplace lending and fintech news on Twitter as it happens. Then every Saturday I take the most interesting news items and blog posts from the past week and share them here.
Goldman Sachs will reevaluate Apple Card credit limits after bias allegations by CNBC – While Goldman Sachs denied any gender bias in their underwriting they will be reevaluating Apple Card credit limits on a case by case basis.
Bias probe or not, the Apple Card is setting a new standard for banks by American Banker – Despite the controversy around the Apple Card right now as Penny Crosman reports they are raising the bar for user experience that will impact all card issuers.
What Should Banks Do With Their Branches? by Forbes – What to do with bank branches is the question of our time. While Ron Shevlin provides no definitive answer he does get to the root of the question. And shares some creative ideas.
Federal lawmakers aim to reduce payday loan rates from 400% interest to 36% by CNBC – There is new legislation in Congress that would cap interest rates nationally at 36%. While I dislike predatory lenders intensely, I am not a fan of a blanket cap like this.
Next in Google’s Quest for Consumer Dominance: Banking by The Wall Street Journal – It is the talk of the fintech industry this week. Yes, Google is getting into banking by partnering with Citi on a new checking account. That is about all we know right now but there are still hundreds of article expounding on this.
How Mark Zuckerberg plans to make money with Facebook Pay by Quartz – Another tech giant had big news in the past 24 hours. Facebook is getting into payments with a unified payment offering across its family apps. John Detrixhe looks into the how and why of Facebook Pay.
Toast Launches Toast Capital To Help Restaurants Secure Loans by Crunchbase – We are starting to see the “verticalization” of fintech as restaurants now have their own lender. Toast has started Toast Capital to provide loans up to $250K to their restaurant customers.
Prosper, a pioneer in consumer lending, has held talks to sound out potential buyers from Business Insider – There have been sale rumors around Prosper (and other platforms) for years. But this is the first time I have read of them being proactive in their outreach. Very interesting if true.
Amazon Quietly Scrapped Checking Account Plans from The Information – While we heard last year that Amazon was in talks with big banks about offering a potential bank account, The Information is reporting that they have shelved those plans, at least for now.
Community Banks Weigh Real-Time Payment Options as Fed Goes Slow from Bloomberg Law – Some community banks are impatient with the Fed as they move slowly towards real time payments and are signing on to the Clearing House, founded by the consortium of big banks.
Barely Making It Is The New Normal. Here’s How Tech Can Change That from Forbes – The CEO of Varo Money provides examples of the ways technology is helping improve the financial health of consumers.
Peter Renton is the chairman and co-founder of LendIt Fintech, the world’s first and largest digital media and events company focused on fintech. Peter has been writing about fintech since 2010 and he is the author and creator of the Fintech One-on-One Podcast, the first and longest-running fintech interview series. Peter has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, The New York Times, CNBC, CNN, Fortune, NPR, Fox Business News, the Financial Times, and dozens of other publications.