BNPL SHOWS INCREDIBLE PROMISE WHILE YOUNG IN ITS LIFE STAGE

by kim Comment Closed
The product is beneficial and economically rational—but needs some guardrails Why Buy-Now Pay-Later is Growing so Quickly Over several years there has been much interest and discussion around Buy Now Pay Later (“BNPL”) and its role within consumer credit.  The concept of paying for a purchase in installments is not a new concept at all—in the distant past however, it was incredibly inefficient compared to electronic ways to pay and finance at the point of sale, like credit cards. The use of technology to streamline the customer experience at the point of sale has brought the product back in popularity. While we are several years into its resurgence, there are still developments and shifts in the market that make it important to watch if not participate in.    A BNPL product facilitates a purchase whereby the purchase amount is split into generally four payments over a six-week timeframe without an interest cost during the payment period.[1] The product was already on a growth...
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Small Business Lending Faces Enormous Change with Rule 1071

by kim Comment Closed
April 28, 2023 The Importance of Small Business Lending in the United States Small businesses across our nation play a crucial role in the health of our economy. As of 2019, small businesses employed 46.4% of total employees in the United States and paid 39.4% of the nation’s wages.[1] Women and racial minorities own 43.2% and 19.4% of small businesses, respectively.  Despite their significant contributions to the U.S. economy, many small business owners have difficulty accessing credit to launch and/or grow their businesses. Small businesses may not have sufficient revenue history or other information to qualify for credit, their financing needs may not fit within the credit box of banks, or other factors. Access to credit is particularly difficult for women and minority small business owners if their business and/or personal credit histories are not well-represented in traditional credit reporting datasets. When it comes to small business lending, community banks have an advantage over large national banks given their deep understanding of the communities...
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New frontiers in compliance automation that can strengthen FinTech – Partner Bank relationships under fire

by kim Comment Closed
November 5, 2022 Money 20/20 is one of the biggest events in financial services, blending all things digital across banking and FinTech. Despite economic and market uncertainty, this year’s event held last week in Las Vegas, brought energy and optimism that could only be described as infectious.   Over 11,500 registered attendees convened at the Venetian to explore new developments in the industry and challenge the status quo.  A major theme of the conference was the need for the industry to strengthen and prove the governance function between FinTechs and their Bank partners, coupled with the availability of automated tools and techniques to support these relationships and their overall risk management functions that benefit FinTechs and Bank partners alike. Here are some takeaways related to this theme from Money 20/20 this year:  FinTechs continue to need access to a Bank’s charter to move money and/or provide financial services under the watchful eyes of regulators who monitor compliance with KYC, AML, BSA, fraud monitoring, OFAC screening, UDAAP, fair...
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