In was obviously a crazy week here but it was also a very busy week for fintech news. Here are what I consider to be the top 10 most important fintech news stories of the past week.
SoFi to Go Public via a SPAC That Values the Company at $8.65 Billion from Lend Academy – SoFi has the most diversified offerings in all of fintech and they announced this week that they would bypass an IPO and go public via a SPAC with the deal closing by the end of Q1.
Lender Affirm Seeks to Raise Almost $935 Million in IPO from Bloomberg – Affirm is getting set for its IPO that is rumored to be happening on Tuesday next week where it will raise close to $1 billion and if it hits the upper end of its pricing range will be valued at $11 billion.
BBVA says that it is shutting down banking app Simple, will transfer users to BBVA USA from TechCrunch – This week marked the end of an era for one of the world’s first digital banks as Simple, acquired by BBVA in 2014 for $117 million, was shut down.
Paycheck Protection Program application start date: What to know about the new small-business loans from Fast Company – The SBA released the rules for the next round of PPP this week and applications will begin on Monday.
Green Dot launches Go2bank, its in-house challenger bank from Tearsheet – Another digital bank enters the fray as Green Dot, known for its banking as a service business, launches Go2bank targeting those people living paycheck to paycheck.
How decentralized finance could reshape banking from American Banker – This is the best article I have read on how banks can take advantage of the DeFi trend. Worth reading every word (good job Penny Crosman).
Banking software start-up Mambu raises $135 million at a $2.1 billion valuation from CNBC – As digital banking adoption ramps up around the world the beneficiaries of this trend are the bank software providers and Mambu is one of the leaders here.
N26 scoops Brazilian banking licence to take on Nubank from AltFi – N26 has received a license from the Brazilian Central Bank and will now be taking on the world leader in digital banking, Nubank.
What banks can earn, and learn, from underbanked customers from FinLedger – There are more banking options than ever before for underserved consumers and fintech is leading the way.
New York leads states’ push to overturn OCC’s ‘rent-a-bank’ rule from American Banker – A coalition of states sued the OCC this week of attempting to facilitate predatory lending by working around state usury laws.
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.