by PYMNTS
In this week’s news, we saw a report that Aspiration is eyeing a public offering. Also, new insights have emerged on data security and loyalty programs. The Weekender is here to catch you up.
News
Star-Studded Green FinTech Aspiration Eyes Public Offering
Aspiration, the California financial technology upstart, is reportedly considering filing for a public listing. The firm is backed by actors Orlando Bloom, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Downey, Jr.
Square Circles Traditional Banking Services
Square intends to grow its financial services offerings for its customers, with an eye toward debuting savings and checking accounts for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
Tech Collaboration Gives Corporates Boost in B2B Payments Digitization
Market collaborations will play an essential role in helping large companies have a more strategic, methodical approach to B2B payments digitization – one that puts digital transformation at the forefront without forced disruption.
Visa: Putting $105 Billion of FinTech Investment to Work for Banks
Financial technology firms have long been darlings on Wall Street and in venture capital, receiving votes of confidence by the way of tens of billions of dollars from investors to innovate and disrupt financial services. The traditional narrative is that the innovation comes at the expense of incumbent, traditional financial institutions (FIs). However, as Terry Angelos, senior vice president and global head of FinTech at Visa, recently told PYMNTS, there’s a way to bring some of that innovation back into the financial services ecosystem.
The Instacart Way to Innovate in the Connected Economy
Seventeen percent of all consumers reported harnessing digital platforms like Instacart to order and pay for supermarket items in lieu of traveling to the grocery store to purchase food, according to PYMNTS’ newest consumer study fielded earlier in May. That figure is only slightly more than the 16 percent of all consumers who reported ordering restaurant food online or via delivery aggregators in lieu of visiting a restaurant to order and consume it.
Trackers and Reports
Remote Work Challenges FIs To Rethink Data Security
The growth of telecommuting exposed some of the flaws in firms’ historical cybersecurity and fraud prevention approaches. PYMNTS explores why companies have to revise their fraud protection approaches for the emerging remote working world and how technologies like multifactor authentication can help.
Machine Learning Helps FIs Identify Accountholders’ Fraudster Twins
Digital banking has risen dramatically in popularity during the last year, and as a result, more customers than ever have to onboard at FIs. Amid this trend, banks face the task of balancing security with client convenience. PYMNTS explores how one FI has streamlined its services to clients and implemented a machine learning (ML)-based system to help stop false positives from occurring.
NEW DATA: New Models Needed to Make Loyalty Work for Local Businesses
Not only do a number of consumers say they would like banks to run their local businesses’ loyalty programs, but a number of them also say they would trust banks with their transactional data more than any other kind of entity.
Fun, Cool and Otherwise Interesting
It’s On: Amazon Confirms $8.5 Billion MGM Acquisition That Will Roil Streaming Video Space
The worst-kept secret in Hollywood was confirmed this week when Amazon announced that it has struck an $8.45 billion deal to buy MGM, the iconic film studio.
Paymentus CEO Says IPO Cements Role as Bill Payments OS
In a recent PYMNTS interview, Paymentus CEO Dushyant Sharma said that when he initially set out to obtain the patents that would give rise to a digital billing and payments platform, he was informed by the Patent Office that the pain points could be solved by the fax machine. But, as he told PYMNTS, there are trillions of dollars in household spend that could reap the rewards from digitalization, standardization and modernization.
Monetizing the Metaverse in Real Time as It’s Being Built
While the metaverse – the online 3D space that is a favorite of gamers – might still be being built and only beginning to come into its own, it is already taking on a secondary role as a marketing platform.
Bitcoin’s Woes Spark Gov’t Probes and Clear Way for CBDCs
The more unsteady the crypto markets become, the more attention they receive from regulators domestically and abroad. But regulators are also unwittingly bolstering the probability that they will ultimately enter the digital currency themselves by building – and implementing – their own central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).
Dosh on Drawing Restaurant Customers Back With Seamless Rewards, Immersive Experiences
Immediate cash back is one way to handle the economic concerns people might be having as they go back to restaurants. “[At] Dosh, we’re providing that cashback moment,” Rob Kenny, director of restaurant partnerships at Dosh, recently told PYMNTS. “As soon as that meal is over and that transaction happens, that consumer walks away with a smile on their face.”
