Things continued (as usual) with the industry taking on AI expansions and integrations. That said, other integrations were (also) in play, while compliance remained in the background (save for the crypto sector).
Headlines to take note of:
- The NYSE has a new auction tool;
- The White House showed its (true) crypto colors;
- Stripe has a new contactless payment option;
- FIS gave everyone a new on-the-go solution;
- Plus, Fannie Mae factored in the self-employed and others (digital nomads anyone?);
Of course, it’s your week in digital wealth!
WealthTech, RegTech, Regulatory, and Treasury
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
To improve liquidity opportunities, the NYSE launched an auction tool. NYSE Opening Auction leverages liquidity aggregation at the start of trading days to enable (quick) price discovery. Additionally, in Q1 2024, the NYSE opening auction traded 44 million shares worth $2.4 billion daily (on average).
Cboe Global Markets/Metaurus Advisors
Cboe took the exchange game further with an announcement unveiling plans to launch three equity indexes.
According to a May 10 Markets Media report, Cboe teamed up with Metaurus Advisors, an innovation-focused asset management firm, to launch the Cboe US Large Cap Lead 50 Index (the Cboe Lead 50), the Cboe US Large Cap Lag 50 Index (the Cboe Lag 50) and the Cboe US Large Cap 100 Index.
The new indexes will (expectedly) launch at the end of the year.
According to a May 7 Traders magazine report, IntelligentCross ATS, an optimization solution by the Stamford, Connecticut-based nontraditional equities ecosystem, beat expectations.
Roman Ginis, CEO of Imperative Execution and Founder of IntelligentCross, indicated that the product minimized the market’s impact at its midpoint book and provided users with higher liquidity.
Furthermore, the solution optimizes conditions (about) 66 million times daily.
Crypto, Blockchain, and Digital Assets
The White House
The Joe Biden-led administration has indicated that it would veto H.J. Res. 109, proposed legislation that permits financial firms to act as crypto custodians.
Additionally, if passed and signed into law, the proposed legislation would override the current SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) No. 121, which limits financial firms from acting as digital asset custodians.
Lightning Labs
Leading crypto innovator Lightning Labs revealed that it had successfully tested a stablecoin protocol for the Bitcoin blockchain.
CEO Elizabeth Stark indicated that the test transaction occurred with a digital asset created via its Taproot Assets protocol.
The State of Vermont
Legislators in Vermont introduced H.659 to protect its residents from crypto scams. The bill introduces a $1,000 transaction limit per customer and a 3% fee ceiling for operators.
Additionally, the Department of Financial Regulation will review the effectiveness of the law and give feedback to legislators in January 2025.
FinTech, Personal Finance, and Apps
Card payments are (now) personal with the introduction of in-person payments by premiere engineering firm DataArt. The firm collaborated with Stripe to conduct practical tests leveraging the Stripe Terminal SDK and Tap-to-Pay (by Stripe).
Furthermore, the solution enables contactless payments on compatible devices.
Braintree-Massachusetts-based InvoiceCloud revealed the addition of new terminals for their POSPay product. The extra terminals enable a wider reach and more options (for users).
Also, POSPay (directly) integrates with the InvoiceCloud platform with zero manual processes.
Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (FIS)
According to a May 7 press release, all-American FinTech FIS launched a new product. Atelio by FIS™ enables FIs, FinTechs, and developers to incorporate financial products using a modular approach.
Furthermore, Atelio by FIS™has on-the-go features, including funds transfers, card operations, compliance, cash flow forecasting, consumer behavioral analytics, and more.
Banking, Payments, and Infrastructure
Visa/J.P. Morgan/Zil Money Corporation
Payments giant Visa and baking behemoth J.P. Morgan announced a partnership that provides seamless and improved experiences.
According to a May 6 post on the Visa website, the collaboration integrates J.P. Morgan’s ecosystem with the Visa Direct network, enabling faster payments, Push-to-Card functionality (for merchants), debit card deposits, and more.
Similarly, the boutique B2B payments ecosystem Zil Money revealed that it’s joining the Visa Fast Track program, which will give users access to seamless transactions, improved experiences, and more.
Seattle-based WaFd Bank chose Fiserv to deploy its CashFlow Central for its Small Business customers. The integration enables ACH payments, electronic invoicing, supplier payment solutions, and more. Additionally, it supports expense solutions, card services, and more.
New Peoples Bank/Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.
Virginia-based community-focused New Peoples Bank partnered with Jack Henry to improve growth plans. The collaboration integrates Jack Henry’s Banno solution into its operations.
The PNC Financial Services Group/The TCW Group
The private credit markets got a boost with a collaboration between PNC and The TCW Group. The cooperation aims to deliver seamless loans to the middle market segment of the industry.
REtech, InsurtTech and Investing
Back Market, Inc./bolt
Refurbished marketplace Back Market partnered with bolt to provide device insurance for buyers. The cooperation leverages bolt’s tech infrastructure and includes bolt device protection plans during purchase.
The Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae)
Mortgage applicants with nontraditional incomes have a plus with a revelation from Fannie Mae that its income calculator tool has new enhancements.
According to a May 8 post on its website, Fannie Mae (has) provided access to the web-based Income Calculator.
Furthermore, lenders can (still) partner with (authorized) technology providers to automate self-employed income calculations.
The Mortgage markets will never be the same (again) with a revelation from Polly. The mortgage-focused FinTech revealed the addition of AI functionality to its product pricing engine. The cloud-based PPE is scalable and (now) comes with a “co-pilot” AI tool for loan officers.
