This latest funding round adds to its war chest, providing ample gunpowder to deploy as it looks to expand its products’ breadth and geographic reach.
U.S. Bank’s user mix sharply shifts to mobile: More of the bank’s active digital users conducted business over mobile devices than on larger screens, with mobile hitting 60% among active digital users in Q2 2021. This clear preference and the accolades that its mobile app has received validate U.S. Bank’s digital strategy.
With Just Invest, Vanguard acquires the tech to offer direct indexing to a wider pool of investors and corner that market, as it has with traditional index investing.
Frost rolls out early paycheck access: The US regional bank will grant customers access to their funds by as many as two days in advance—it’s the latest incumbent to roll out a feature that neobanks have relied on as a competitive advantage.
BofA digital engagement surges: The US-based bank disclosed that users are turning to digital channels more frequently, even as adoption slows. With adoption now approaching saturation, engagement will become the next frontier for banks.
Goldman double-clicks on BNPL product with Apple: The bank will be the lender for Apple’s installment payments product—growing its loan-book and gaining know-how that it can apply to its own nascent BNPL offering, MarcusPay.
The top 3 buy now, pay later platforms
The insurance comparison marketplace is eyeing a SPAC merger as it diversifies its product suite—yet another insurtech taking this route to enter the public markets.
China could be ready to launch the digital yuan in early 2022, and India is building a CBDC framework while also warming up to Bitcoin.
A rising Tide gets $100M for overseas moves: The funds will propel the UK-based neobank’s growth abroad, including India—and the size of its business customer base suggests Tide’s race against fellow domestic challenger players Starling and Revolut is heating up.
JPMorgan ups advisors by over 300: The bank’s client advisor headcount was up by over 300 in Q2 2021 compared to the same period last year. It’s pushing to make financial advice a key feature of branch banking, even as customers flock to digital channels for routine services.