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:
- Clear Street now has clearing and execution services in the US;
- BNY Mellon is working ahead of the T+1 deadline;
- PayPal’s users can (now) buy crypto via MoonPay;
- Open banking is available with Visa’s Tink;
- One a disturbing note, the UHG hack could affect a third of all Americans (more on that later);
Of course, it’s your week in digital wealth!
WealthTech, RegTech, Regulatory, and Treasury
Clear Street
Boutique financial services firm Clear Street unveiled the launch of futures clearing and execution services for financial institutions on American exchanges. The move follows the launch of clearing services for market makers.
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE)
According to a May 2 Markets Media report, ICE Chair and CEO Jeffrey Sprecher revealed the formation of an internal AI-focused working group. The AI Centre of Excellence will test use cases and develop compliance and governance frameworks to mitigate risks.
AccessFintech/BNY Mellon
Financial behemoth BNY Mellon reached out across the pond in the United Kingdom to partner with data-focused AccessFintech. The collaboration aims to solve issues with the upcoming +1 settlement regulations.
Additionally, clients within the AccessFintech ecosystem can deploy BNY Mellon’s brokerage services for FX transactions with the “predicted to settle” status.
Crypto, Blockchain, and Digital Assets
Payments processor MoonPay announced its integration with PayPal, giving (over) 400 million users access to a little more than 100 crypto tokens.
According to a May 2 blog post on the MoonPay website, users can purchase crypto from their PayPal balances, bank transfers, or debit cards without manually entering information.
On his X handle, Stripe co-founder John Collison revealed that the USDC stablecoin will be available as a checkout option in the summer. Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon blockchains will be (initially) available. Also, on-chain conversions to fiat will be possible.
Block, Inc.
Jack Dorsey-owned Block introduced a feature that allows merchants within the Square ecosystem to convert a portion of their earnings into Bitcoin. The new feature (allows) merchants to convert 1%- 10% of their daily sales at the end of the day, followed by a confirmation when the transactions have been (successfully) completed.
FinTech, Personal Finance, and Apps
To help companies meet global tax requirements, compliance-focused Sovos launched its Indirect Tax Suite. The solution is part of the Sovos Compliance Cloud and (helps) businesses solve indirect tax issues with key players, including trading partners and governments.
Expensify, Inc.
Self-employed professionals have a new option, which is an upgrade from Expensify. The new feature allows self-employed pros to track costs, and organize and share them with their tax people from a single app. Also, they can communicate and collaborate with colleagues via texts, emails, chats, and more.
Xplor Technologies
Missouri-based Xplor Technologies launched Xplor Capital, a product that gives small businesses increased options per funding. Businesses that use other products within their ecosystem provide businesses with funding options via the solution based on sales volume. They also have access to pre-approved options and funding proposals.
Advanced Fraud Solutions (AFS)
High Point, North Carolina-based AFS introduced Payee Positive Pay, an image recognition feature that enables image resolution technology. Payee Positive Pay verifies names against pre-registered databases for verification, improving check verification processes.
Banking, Payments, and Infrastructure
Payments behemoth Visa enabled open banking options via its (newly) acquired subsidiary Tink. American customers can (now) access their bank accounts and provide (secure) access to third parties from within Tink.
Orum, the boutique API-driven payments FinTech, launched a new solution. Businesses can (now) use No Code Verify to determine the validity of accounts before payments without API integrations. Additionally, the solution is connected to the FedNow ecosystem alongside ACH same-day fallback, providing seamless confirmation.
Lumin Digital
Premiere banking solutions firm Lumin Digital unveiled one-click passkey access for its banking platform. Also, banking customers can (now) turn off one-time codes and other multifactor authentication methods.
Affinity Credit Union/Mahalo Banking
Iowa-based Affinity Credit Union revealed the selection of Mahalo Banking for its digital needs. The announcement follows the successful deployment of Mahalo’s solution for (Affinity).
REtech, InsurtTech and Investing
AI-focused Simplifai unveiled Simplifai Claims Processing. InsuranceGPT, FinTech’s industry GenAI, powers the solution. The product also has features that improve ecosystem efficiency, including industry-focused suggestions, process automation, and cost reduction.
CLARA Analytics/Origami Risk
Similarly, CLARA Analytics revealed the extension of its partnership with Chicago-based Origami Risk. Origiami’s customers can access and (seamlessly) integrate CLARA Analytic’s insights, summaries, (easily) onboard customers, and more.
To help critical ecosystem players assess risk, AI-focused Sayata introduced a new product. The Sayata Risk Engine enables insurers and managing general agents (MGAs) (to efficiently) assess risks and provide tailored solutions to small businesses.
UnitedHealth/Capitol Hill
At a federal committee hearing on Capitol Hill, UHG CEO Andrew Witty indicated that the recent ransomware attacks exposed data about 33% of America’s population.
UnitedHealth paid $22 million in bitcoins as ransom. Still, Witty iterated that there was “no guarantee” that the criminals would not sell the data of the February 12 incident on the dark web.
