Paul Schulte, Advisor, Banking and Financial Services
August 22nd, 2019
Paul Schulte is the Founder and Managing Editor of Shulte Research based in Singapore. Paul's roles[...]
Cities and states around the country are banning stores from refusing to accept cash, and it’s a troubling trend for Amazon
- Stores that do not accept cash are on the rise, from quick-service lunch spots to Amazon's Go stores.
- Not accepting cash can speed up lines and make life easier for card-carrying consumers.
- But a backlash has grown, as the cashless trend leaves out lower-income customers who may not have a bank account.
- Massachusetts, Philadelphia, and New Jersey have already barred stores from rejecting cash as payment, and New York City and San Francisco are considering similar measures.
- This could affect the growth of Amazon's physical stores, which do not accept cash.
Cashless stores are becoming controversial.
See:
-
Under pressure Amazon plans to accept cash at cashless Go stores
-
Bank Customers Are Primed And Ready For Amazon
Stores that do not accept cash are on the rise, from quick-service lunch spots to Amazon's physical stores. Not accepting cash can speed up lines or eliminate them altogether, making life easier for card-carrying consumers.
Not everybody is on board with this cashless utopia, however. Backlash has started, as the cashless trend leaves out lower-income customers who may not have a bank account. As of last year, an estimated 15.6 million people in the US do not have a bank account.
Philadelphia barred stores from choosing not to accept cash in early March, becoming the first US city to do so.
"Most of the people who don't have credit tend to be lower income, minority, immigrants. It just seemed to me, if not intentional, at least a form of discrimination," Philadelphia City Councilman William Greenlee told the Wall Street Journal.
New Jersey later followed with its own measure, which Governor Phil Murphy signed into law on March 18.
"This idea of 'we don't want to accept cash' just marginalizes the poor, young people who haven't established credit yet, people who prefer to pay in cash," Assemblyman Paul Moriarty, a sponsor of the bill, told WNYC.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Coindesk via yahoo finance | Paddy Baker | April 9, 2020 Canadian investment manager 3iQ said The Bitcoin Fund, for which it originally filed a prospectus back in October, began trading on the TSX on Thursday. The fund works along the same lines as an exchange-traded product (ETP): investors purchase shares in the fund and receive exposure to changes in the underlying assets price over time. It tracks the bitcoin (BTC) price using an index feed co-developed by MV Index Solutions (MVIS), a VanEck Europe subsidiary, and cryptocurrency market data provider CryptoCompare. The fund is split into two types of shares, Class A, aimed at all types of investors, and Class F for institutions. Only Class A shars are being listed on the Toronto exchange. 3iQ president and CEO Fred Pye told CoinDesk the total value of Class A shares comes to approximately $14 million. See: Fintech Fridays Episode 32: Rallying behind Bitcoin with Frederick T. Pye As with other ETPs, the key attraction is investors who either can't or won't buy the underlying asset can still add bitcoin to their portfolios. Traditional investors can also use the fund as a vehicle to become more familiar with the asset class ...
Read More
Sifted | Isabel Woodford | March 25, 3020 A sector-by-sector analysis of what might happen to European fintechs during a downturn. Which are most at risk and which might profit? During the past five years, financial technology startups have been some of the most hyped, fastest-growing and best-funded in Europe. But as the coronavirus pandemic begins to weigh on the economy, fears are growing that financial startups will be hit hard, as investors invest less and consumer spending slows. Yet fintech is a broad sector, making it hard to generalise about the impact of coronavirus. So we’ve analysed how the different sub-sectors within fintech might fare in the short to mid-term amid virus shock and a potential recession. An overview: Fintech during coronavirus The graphic above summarises how each sub-sector will be affected by the coronavirus outbreak, according to an analysis by Sifted in collaboration with Finch Capital. Those marked in red are predicted to see a downturn, yellow indicates it’s a mixed bag and green means it will likely see a boost. Finch Capital Report: Future of Disruptive and Enabling Financial Technology post covid-19 Our thesis is that digital banks, foreign exchange (FX) companies, wealth manager apps and small and ...
Read More
Finance Magnates | Rachel McIntosh | March 25, 2020 The paradigm shift that the coronavirus has caused will leave permanent marks on the fintech industry. Many countries around the world are hitting the 2- or 3- or even 12-week-mark of quarantine, and many are looking at just as many (or more) weeks of quarantine ahead. The virus has brought about a powerful shift in reality; in addition to the effects that the virus has had on our personal lives, companies in every industry are being forced to find new ways of operating on every level. In a way, the fintech industry has been presented with a kind of advantage–being a fairly new sector, fintech companies are already fairly well-positioned to adapt to a world that suddenly exists primarily online; most fintech platforms already exist in online formats anyhow. See: Coronavirus Is Widening the Corporate Digital Divide Still, the paradigm shift brought about by coronavirus is forcing the fintech sector to come up with creative solutions to new and unprecedented problems when it comes to supporting customers, building relationships, boosting company morale, and planning for the future. Banks are suddenly relying on fintech companies more than ever Indeed, Paul Geiger, President ...
Read More
Roll Call | Chris Brummer | April 7, 2020 Fintech Beat sits down with Linda Jeng and Dan Gorfine to talk about how online lending, open banking and a digital dollar — with the right policies — could immediately improve the plight of those affected by the coronavirus. The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org ...
Read More
Forbes | Ron Shevlin | April 6, 2020 Microsoft and data aggregator Plaid announced a partnership to offer a service they’re calling Money in Excel. According to Plaid: “Money in Excel essentially turns the spreadsheet into a fintech app. It allows users to securely connect their financial accounts, import the data within them, sync balances and transactions over time, and, ultimately, gain greater insights into their financial health.” See: With Plaid Acquisition, Visa Makes a Big Play for the ‘Plumbing’ That Connects the Fintech World Here’s how it’ll work: Plaid will provide a permissioned connection to financial accounts from within Excel. After linking their account(s), users will have access to their balance and transaction history. The tool will provide charts and graphs analyzing users’ spending in a “Monthly Snapshot” tab. According to Microsoft, the tool will also feature proactive alerts about price changes for recurring payments, bank fees, and overdraft warnings. Although there was no mention of fees by either Microsoft or Plaid, American Banker reported that Money in Excel will will cost $7 a month for individuals and $10 a month for families. The Good News: Competition in the PFM Space is Weak (For Now) The Bad News: Few ...
Read More
Ledger Insights | April 6, 2020 A bulletin from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the body owned by 62 central banks, highlights cash concerns because of the COVID-19 virus. It states that perceived risks, valid or not, brings the potential for digital payments to the fore. And the BIS specifically makes a case for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). In recent weeks, internet searches have shot up relating to COVID-19 and cash, especially in jurisdictions that use small denomination banknotes. Additionally, research has shown that viruses can persist on banknotes. That’s based on past research relating to influenza and other viruses as well as more recent COVID-19 research, which show non-porous surfaces are better at transferring the illness. See: Dirty money: The case against using cash during the coronavirus outbreak However, there are no proven cases of transmission through cash, and scientists found the risks are thought to be low compared to other frequently touched objects. The main risk for COVID-19 is thought to be airborne droplets. Plus, using cards at point of sale terminals also carries some risks, particularly PIN pads. In both cases, washing hands is important. Examples given of central bank actions include the Bank of England statement: ...
Read More
Daily Fintech | Ilias Louis Hatzis | April 6, 2020 Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is building a new financial system. The DeFi movement is picking up steam. DeFi has been successful in remittances, loans, stable coins, and other core elements of the fiat world. With a little over a year under its belt, DeFi hit a major milestone a couple of months ago, with more than $1 billion in value locked in the DeFi markets. Bitcoin (BTC) dominates the cryptocurrency market, its 8x bigger than the Ethereum, the second cryptocurrency by market cap, but Bitcoin doesn’t have Ethereum’s sophisticated on-chain lending, derivatives, trading capabilities . While there are already several centralized BTC lending platforms like BlockFi/Nexo/Celsius. Bitcoin DeFi has been a dream for Bitcoiners. Maybe the dream is over and new tBTC project will bring Bitcoin to the DeFi world. Maybe it will do a lot more than that! Bitcoin could greatly transform DeFi and that is exactly what the team behind the Keep protocol understands. They recently raised $7.7 million, led by Paradigm Capital and other companies including Fenbushi Capital and Collaborative Funds, to launch a trustless platform for creating Bitcoin-backed tBTC tokens, on Ethereum. The tBTC platform extends on ...
Read More
Pitchbook | Alexander Davis | March 24, 2020 After driving much of the venture capital market's hyper-growth in recent years, corporations are poised for a decisive stress test of their zeal for funding startups. Heading into 2020, it wasn't unreasonable to forecast another record year for VC financing involving corporate venture capital arms, such as those of titans Intel, Salesforce and Google. But that was before the coronavirus brought the world economy to a standstill. Turmoil spurred by the global health emergency has given rise to a new mantra for business decision-makers: Hit pause. Inside boardrooms of every stripe, countless investment decisions are either being postponed or subjected to fresh scrutiny. Companies are suddenly on guard as they struggle to take the measure of an unfolding economic disaster, in a challenge of their commitment to venture funding. "In that hunker-down scenario, all spending goes through a rigorous review, obviously," said Pradeep Tagare, head of the $250 million corporate venture fund at UK-based energy company National Grid. "One of the first things that gets hit is the venture capital part of it because that's an easy thing to step back on." Corporate VC departments make strategic bets on markets, innovations, partnerships ...
Read More
Crypto Consilium | Austin Hubbell | April 3, 2020 Capital Markets in the Digital Asset Era", with speakers representing Asset Management, Exchange, Lending, Custody and Data & Technology. It's a 1-hour event that's focused around the current state of the industry and what needs to be done to move digital assets into the mainstream institutional capital markets world. Online Event Date and Time Wed, April 8, 2020 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM EDT Price: FREE Register on eventbrite: here Moderator Michael Rabkin, Head of Institutional Sales & Head of Global Partnerships at DV Chain & DVeX Speakers George Bordianu is the co-founder and CEO of Balance Austin Hubbell is the CEO and co-founder of Consilium Crypto Adam Reeds is the Co-Founder & CEO of Ledn John Willock is CEO and co-founder of Tritum Digital Assets Shaun Cumby is the Chief investment officer of 3iQ Register for this event --> Now The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry ...
Read More
UNCDF | Jia Wei Khor | April 2, 2020 APEC Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) launched the Gig Economy Challenge. The challenge is funded by MetLife Foundation through the i3 (Innovate, Implement and Impact) program. In light of COVID-19, gig workers are likely to face new and unforeseen challenges which will affect their financial health. Calling for applications to seek viable solutions for improving the financial health of gig workers in APEC's (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) 21 member economies. If you have a solution, apply now! See: Malaysia’s potential as the fintech hub for the ASEAN region Why participate? Technical assistance worth $100,000 to pilot your technology product or service Up to $30,000 grant per team as seed capital Opportunity to pilot the solution in Malaysia Access to enabling partnerships, including financial institutions, technology companies and other infrastructure providers Questions? Join the info sessions! Click below to register 7 April (Tue) 11 am ( GMT +8) 14 April (Tue) 10 am ( GMT +8) 23 April (Thurs) 11 am ( GMT +8) Where can I know more?: www.bit.ly/GigEconomyChallenge Application Deadline: 27 April 2020 Contact finlab@uncdf.org The National Crowdfunding & ...
Read More
Coindesk via yahoo finance | Paddy Baker | April 9, 2020 Canadian investment manager 3iQ said The Bitcoin Fund, for which it originally filed a prospectus back in October, began trading on the TSX on Thursday. The fund works along the same lines as an exchange-traded product (ETP): investors purchase shares in the fund and receive exposure to changes in the underlying assets price over time. It tracks the bitcoin (BTC) price using an index feed co-developed by MV Index Solutions (MVIS), a VanEck Europe subsidiary, and cryptocurrency market data provider CryptoCompare. The fund is split into two types of shares, Class A, aimed at all types of investors, and Class F for institutions. Only Class A shars are being listed on the Toronto exchange. 3iQ president and CEO Fred Pye told CoinDesk the total value of Class A shares comes to approximately $14 million. See: Fintech Fridays Episode 32: Rallying behind Bitcoin with Frederick T. Pye As with other ETPs, the key attraction is investors who either can't or won't buy the underlying asset can still add bitcoin to their portfolios. Traditional investors can also use the fund as a vehicle to become more familiar with the asset class ...
Read More
Read More
Sifted | Isabel Woodford | March 25, 3020 A sector-by-sector analysis of what might happen to European fintechs during a downturn. Which are most at risk and which might profit? During the past five years, financial technology startups have been some of the most hyped, fastest-growing and best-funded in Europe. But as the coronavirus pandemic begins to weigh on the economy, fears are growing that financial startups will be hit hard, as investors invest less and consumer spending slows. Yet fintech is a broad sector, making it hard to generalise about the impact of coronavirus. So we’ve analysed how the different sub-sectors within fintech might fare in the short to mid-term amid virus shock and a potential recession. An overview: Fintech during coronavirus The graphic above summarises how each sub-sector will be affected by the coronavirus outbreak, according to an analysis by Sifted in collaboration with Finch Capital. Those marked in red are predicted to see a downturn, yellow indicates it’s a mixed bag and green means it will likely see a boost. Finch Capital Report: Future of Disruptive and Enabling Financial Technology post covid-19 Our thesis is that digital banks, foreign exchange (FX) companies, wealth manager apps and small and ...
Read More
Read More
Finance Magnates | Rachel McIntosh | March 25, 2020 The paradigm shift that the coronavirus has caused will leave permanent marks on the fintech industry. Many countries around the world are hitting the 2- or 3- or even 12-week-mark of quarantine, and many are looking at just as many (or more) weeks of quarantine ahead. The virus has brought about a powerful shift in reality; in addition to the effects that the virus has had on our personal lives, companies in every industry are being forced to find new ways of operating on every level. In a way, the fintech industry has been presented with a kind of advantage–being a fairly new sector, fintech companies are already fairly well-positioned to adapt to a world that suddenly exists primarily online; most fintech platforms already exist in online formats anyhow. See: Coronavirus Is Widening the Corporate Digital Divide Still, the paradigm shift brought about by coronavirus is forcing the fintech sector to come up with creative solutions to new and unprecedented problems when it comes to supporting customers, building relationships, boosting company morale, and planning for the future. Banks are suddenly relying on fintech companies more than ever Indeed, Paul Geiger, President ...
Read More
Read More
Roll Call | Chris Brummer | April 7, 2020 Fintech Beat sits down with Linda Jeng and Dan Gorfine to talk about how online lending, open banking and a digital dollar — with the right policies — could immediately improve the plight of those affected by the coronavirus. The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org ...
Read More
Read More
Forbes | Ron Shevlin | April 6, 2020 Microsoft and data aggregator Plaid announced a partnership to offer a service they’re calling Money in Excel. According to Plaid: “Money in Excel essentially turns the spreadsheet into a fintech app. It allows users to securely connect their financial accounts, import the data within them, sync balances and transactions over time, and, ultimately, gain greater insights into their financial health.” See: With Plaid Acquisition, Visa Makes a Big Play for the ‘Plumbing’ That Connects the Fintech World Here’s how it’ll work: Plaid will provide a permissioned connection to financial accounts from within Excel. After linking their account(s), users will have access to their balance and transaction history. The tool will provide charts and graphs analyzing users’ spending in a “Monthly Snapshot” tab. According to Microsoft, the tool will also feature proactive alerts about price changes for recurring payments, bank fees, and overdraft warnings. Although there was no mention of fees by either Microsoft or Plaid, American Banker reported that Money in Excel will will cost $7 a month for individuals and $10 a month for families. The Good News: Competition in the PFM Space is Weak (For Now) The Bad News: Few ...
Read More
Read More
Ledger Insights | April 6, 2020 A bulletin from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the body owned by 62 central banks, highlights cash concerns because of the COVID-19 virus. It states that perceived risks, valid or not, brings the potential for digital payments to the fore. And the BIS specifically makes a case for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). In recent weeks, internet searches have shot up relating to COVID-19 and cash, especially in jurisdictions that use small denomination banknotes. Additionally, research has shown that viruses can persist on banknotes. That’s based on past research relating to influenza and other viruses as well as more recent COVID-19 research, which show non-porous surfaces are better at transferring the illness. See: Dirty money: The case against using cash during the coronavirus outbreak However, there are no proven cases of transmission through cash, and scientists found the risks are thought to be low compared to other frequently touched objects. The main risk for COVID-19 is thought to be airborne droplets. Plus, using cards at point of sale terminals also carries some risks, particularly PIN pads. In both cases, washing hands is important. Examples given of central bank actions include the Bank of England statement: ...
Read More
Read More
Daily Fintech | Ilias Louis Hatzis | April 6, 2020 Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is building a new financial system. The DeFi movement is picking up steam. DeFi has been successful in remittances, loans, stable coins, and other core elements of the fiat world. With a little over a year under its belt, DeFi hit a major milestone a couple of months ago, with more than $1 billion in value locked in the DeFi markets. Bitcoin (BTC) dominates the cryptocurrency market, its 8x bigger than the Ethereum, the second cryptocurrency by market cap, but Bitcoin doesn’t have Ethereum’s sophisticated on-chain lending, derivatives, trading capabilities . While there are already several centralized BTC lending platforms like BlockFi/Nexo/Celsius. Bitcoin DeFi has been a dream for Bitcoiners. Maybe the dream is over and new tBTC project will bring Bitcoin to the DeFi world. Maybe it will do a lot more than that! Bitcoin could greatly transform DeFi and that is exactly what the team behind the Keep protocol understands. They recently raised $7.7 million, led by Paradigm Capital and other companies including Fenbushi Capital and Collaborative Funds, to launch a trustless platform for creating Bitcoin-backed tBTC tokens, on Ethereum. The tBTC platform extends on ...
Read More
Read More
Pitchbook | Alexander Davis | March 24, 2020 After driving much of the venture capital market's hyper-growth in recent years, corporations are poised for a decisive stress test of their zeal for funding startups. Heading into 2020, it wasn't unreasonable to forecast another record year for VC financing involving corporate venture capital arms, such as those of titans Intel, Salesforce and Google. But that was before the coronavirus brought the world economy to a standstill. Turmoil spurred by the global health emergency has given rise to a new mantra for business decision-makers: Hit pause. Inside boardrooms of every stripe, countless investment decisions are either being postponed or subjected to fresh scrutiny. Companies are suddenly on guard as they struggle to take the measure of an unfolding economic disaster, in a challenge of their commitment to venture funding. "In that hunker-down scenario, all spending goes through a rigorous review, obviously," said Pradeep Tagare, head of the $250 million corporate venture fund at UK-based energy company National Grid. "One of the first things that gets hit is the venture capital part of it because that's an easy thing to step back on." Corporate VC departments make strategic bets on markets, innovations, partnerships ...
Read More
Read More
Crypto Consilium | Austin Hubbell | April 3, 2020 Capital Markets in the Digital Asset Era", with speakers representing Asset Management, Exchange, Lending, Custody and Data & Technology. It's a 1-hour event that's focused around the current state of the industry and what needs to be done to move digital assets into the mainstream institutional capital markets world. Online Event Date and Time Wed, April 8, 2020 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM EDT Price: FREE Register on eventbrite: here Moderator Michael Rabkin, Head of Institutional Sales & Head of Global Partnerships at DV Chain & DVeX Speakers George Bordianu is the co-founder and CEO of Balance Austin Hubbell is the CEO and co-founder of Consilium Crypto Adam Reeds is the Co-Founder & CEO of Ledn John Willock is CEO and co-founder of Tritum Digital Assets Shaun Cumby is the Chief investment officer of 3iQ Register for this event --> Now The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry ...
Read More
Read More
UNCDF | Jia Wei Khor | April 2, 2020 APEC Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) launched the Gig Economy Challenge. The challenge is funded by MetLife Foundation through the i3 (Innovate, Implement and Impact) program. In light of COVID-19, gig workers are likely to face new and unforeseen challenges which will affect their financial health. Calling for applications to seek viable solutions for improving the financial health of gig workers in APEC's (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) 21 member economies. If you have a solution, apply now! See: Malaysia’s potential as the fintech hub for the ASEAN region Why participate? Technical assistance worth $100,000 to pilot your technology product or service Up to $30,000 grant per team as seed capital Opportunity to pilot the solution in Malaysia Access to enabling partnerships, including financial institutions, technology companies and other infrastructure providers Questions? Join the info sessions! Click below to register 7 April (Tue) 11 am ( GMT +8) 14 April (Tue) 10 am ( GMT +8) 23 April (Thurs) 11 am ( GMT +8) Where can I know more?: www.bit.ly/GigEconomyChallenge Application Deadline: 27 April 2020 Contact finlab@uncdf.org The National Crowdfunding & ...
Read More
Read More
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