The Week in Digital Wealth (12/4/23)

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Happy new month!

Just how deep does the AI rabbit hole go?

Nobody knows.

Every solution and product is most likely automated or has integrations.

That said, Bloomberg revealed its softer side with a United Nations SDG tool.

NASDAQ jumped on the zero-day options bus.

The BIS proved that privacy-oriented CBDCs are theoretically possible.

Mastercard unveiled an AI shopping assistant.

Also, instant payments across the pond in Europe are now possible.

Plus, the InsurTech industry now has a trade group.

It’s your week in digital wealth!


WealthTech, RegTech, Regulatory, and Treasury

Bloomberg/United Nations

To keep up with leading trends, Bloomberg, the financial and software giant, revealed the launch of a new tool that assesses the effectiveness of corporate actions of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The multi-sectoral tool analyzes over 500 industry activities to provide a big picture on a case-by-case basis.

Velexa/TradingView

Velexa, the premier investing platform, partnered with TradingView, the charting and social ecosystem.

The collaboration integrates data capabilities (from TradingView) and more with the Velexa web trading ecosystem.

SOLVE

SOLVE, the fixed income-focused FinTech company, introduced its municipal market data solution to its ecosystem (“Ticker”).

Ticker improves transparency via the real-time provision of quotes.

NASDAQ

Zero-day options are now a thing, with the revelation that NASDAQ listed several contracts that cover Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) across several niches.

Contracts are now available for oil, natural gas, gold, and long-term Treasuries.

Crypto, Blockchain, and Digital Assets

The Bank for International Settlement (BIS) Innovation Hub

The BIS Innovation Hub revealed working privacy-oriented CBDC models.

According to a research paper published on November 29, two models, ECash1 and ECash2, were successfully tested within the BIS cloud environment.

Uniswap/Talos

Uniswap, the leading decentralized exchange, revealed its partnership with Talos, a boutique FinTech for institutional finance.

The collaboration gives Talos access to the Uniswap trading API ecosystem. Plans are underway to grant access to UniswapX in the future.

Alchemy Pay

Alchemy Pay, a leading crypto on-ramp firm, revealed its granting of a money transmitter license by the State of Iowa.

The approval comes on the hills of a similar move by the State of Arkansas for the Singapore-based firm.

FinTech, Personal Finance, and Apps

Mastercard

Automated shopping could become the next big thing with a new shopping assistant by Mastercard (“Shopping Muse”).

“Shopping Muse” studies customer preferences and makes recommendations by personalizing retail experiences.

Mastercard launched its solution under the”Dynamic Yield by Mastercard” initiative.

Relay Payments/Yesway

Cardless processing for diesel fuel truckers is now available via a partnership between Yesway, the leading convenience store network, and Relay Payments, a logistic-focused payment processor.

Additionally, the solution is available at Yesway and Allsup stores.

The cooperation offers truckers several benefits, including fair pricing, a route planning feature, and 247 customer support.

SafeSend

Tax and accounting professionals now have expanded options with the revelation that SafeSend, an industry-focused FinTech, joined the CCH Marketplace program.

The CCH Axcess™ Marketplace is a boutique ecosystem that connects tax and accounting professionals to software resources.

Banking, Payments, and Infrastructure

Socure

Banks and other financial institutions that sponsor FinTech firms can now onboard and manage their partners with a new Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) solution from Socure, a boutique identity solutions and fraud prevention ecosystem.

The BaaS product easily integrates banks and their partners and offers flexible features, including automated case management, concurrent compliance management, and data testing features.

Goldman Sachs/Apple

According to a Tuesday, November 28 CNBC report, Apple and Goldman Sachs are in talks to wind down their consumer banking partnership.

Regulatory issues and rising costs are the reported reasons for the move.

SWIFT

Instant payments are now a thing across the pond in Europe with a revelation from SWIFT, the banking network.

SWIFT launched a real-time cross-border payment solution (One-Leg-Out Instant Credit Transfer scheme (OCT Inst)).

OCT Inst is live and processes transactions 247/365.

REtech, InsurtTech and Investing

Cytora/ZestyAI

Cytora, a leading insurance digitization firm, revealed a collaboration with ZestyAI, an automated risk assessment company.

The cooperation integrates ZestyAI’s product into Cytora’s ecosystem, giving key players a one-stop solution and providing underwriters with accurate analytics and risk metrics.

MAPRE/Cyberwrite

Cyberwrite, the boutique AI-focused cyber insurance solutions firm, teamed up with MAPRE, a premier insurance provider.

The collaboration integrates Cyberwrite’s cyber risk insights for MAPRE’s customers.

LenderLogix/Encompass Lending Group

LenderLogix, a leading mortgage Pont-of-Sale (PoS) solutions firm for financial institutions, revealed that Encompass Lending Group selected its LiteSpeed and QuickCal loan origination system (LOS) solutions.

Consequently, the integrations enable lower-cost scenarios for customers. Encompass Lending Group is a subsidiary of Fathom Holdings Inc. (FTHM).

The InsurTech Coalition

In what could be a game changer for the InsurTech industry, leading providers and key industry players teamed up to form an avant-garde trade organization.

According to an open letter, the group aims to promote the responsible use of technology and transparency and improve the adoption of insurance solutions.

The group has several leading companies in the sector, including Lemonade, Clearcover, Root Insurance, Boost, Branch, and others.