Friday July 13, 2018 –
Here are the new and noteworthy stories we have been following this week.
Dealmaking in global payments sector hits new high
Payments industry transformation driving deals – $46 billion in the first six months of the year.
https://www.ft.com/content/93ed4628-812c-11e8-bc55-50daf11b720d
Mastercard is in talks with UK banks about launching cards with fingerprint scanners
Mastercard has been testing cards with in-built fingerprint scanners.
Citizens Financial Group Launches Direct-to-Consumer Digital Bank
Citizens Bank launches digital bank – Citizens Access.
Consumer Credit Jumps $24.5 Billion in May
Consumer borrowing grew in May at the fastest pace in a year and a half to reach $3.9 trillion.
http://ww2.cfo.com/the-economy/2018/07/consumer-credit-jumps-24-5-billion-in-may/
Visa launches loyalty platform in Latin America and the Caribbean
Visa launched an omnichannel digital points redemption platform available to all issuing banks in LAC.
The New Toll of American Student Debt in 3 Charts
Student loan debt is now about $1.4 trillion.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/11/your-money/student-loan-debt-parents.html
Walmart Weighs a Bid From Capital One for Credit Cards
Walmart considering moving its credit card business from Synchrony to Capital One.
Funding for U.S. Fintech Startups Rose 40 Percent Last Quarter
VC funding for US fintech companies rose about 40% to $3 billion in Q2.
Uber now lets you pay for rides and food via Venmo
Venmo can now be used to make Uber payments as as well as split costs.
https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/12/uber-now-lets-you-pay-for-rides-and-food-via-venmo/
Mastercard users report card payments failing due to glitch
Mastercard suffers brief outage.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6766131/mastercard-down-issues-card-payments-uk/
Bank Earnings Climb in Growing Economy, but Lending Doesn’t Keep Pace
Despite rising profitability, bank lending is lagging.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/13/business/dealbook/bank-earnings-grow-lending-slow.html