Neobanks Fraud Challenge, Tokenized Deposits, SoftPos Hype

PayPal admitted it had found 4.5m “illegitimate” accounts last week. That raises questions of how smaller fintechs are tackling the compliance battle, as fraudsters get smarter.

Another week another Fed research on stablecoins! What the NY Fed research argues is that if “DLT platforms are the transfer mechanism of the future, then it seems worthwhile to find the best possible money that can be used on that transfer mechanism”. And they suggest that tokenized deposits might be a fruitful avenue to pursue.

“The best news is that when Apple is willing to deploy a solution it usually tells the market that the technology is ready for mainstream use, and therefore should help drive the market forward.”

Vivid Money, a challenger bank out of Berlin with 500,000 customers, has made a name for itself with a financial one-stop-shop “super app” that, in addition to basic checking and money management services, also includes stock and cryptocurrency investing. Now, as it gears up to add more services to its platform and expand across Europe.

French startup Alma is trying to build a new “buy now, pay later” giant in Europe. The company has closed a $130m Series C round. It has also raised $109m in debt financing. Tencent, GR Capital and Roosh Ventures are investing in the startup for the first time.

Betterment customers will now be able to invest in pre-built crypto portfolios alongside their existing traditional investments.

The digital bank is one of the many companies changing work patterns as staff demand flexibility after the pandemic.

Wealthfront Corp.‘s sale to UBS Group AG support S&P view that digital investment advisers Betterment LLC and Acorns Grow Inc. might explore sales, if they are not already doing so.

American Express, known for its array of perks-laden cards, is jumping into the highly competitive arena of digital-checking accounts.

Chris Skinner analyzes how Africa is leading a FinTech revolution that many have not seen or noticed. It has unicorns and funding that has increased nine times in just the last five years to a value of $5 billion in 2021, and that is double the amount of 2020.

Federal officials seized some $3.6 billion worth of bitcoin tied to the 2016 hack of the crypto exchange Bitfinex.

Agents arrested two individuals in New York on Tuesday on charges they conspired to launder proceeds from the Bitfinex hack in 2016.

From the open arms to the careful eye, different European countries have different approaches to crypto. Here’s what startups need to know.