- The Storyline
October culminated in Money20/20 after an intense conference season that included Boston Fintech Week and DC Fintech Week. We connected with industry leaders, partners, and friends at our happy hours during each conference. We’re excited to introduce a new section to Advisory Insights – Team Viewpoint – where we’ll feature our experts’ perspectives on industry developments. Let’s dive into the top storylines.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its final rule implementing Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act on October 22, establishing a framework for personal financial data sharing in the United States. The regulation requires financial institutions, credit card issuers, and other financial providers to make consumers’ financial data available to third parties upon customer request and at no charge. This standardized data-sharing framework covers transaction history, account features, and pricing information, while incorporating privacy and security requirements. The rule effectively implements open banking standards in the U.S. financial system, requiring institutions to develop compliant data transfer capabilities within the CFPB’s implementation timeline. It was met almost immediately with a lawsuit brought by the Bank Policy Institute and Kentucky Bankers Association. See our Team Viewpoint section below, where Ashwin Vasan, FS Vector Partner and former Associate Director of Research, Monitoring and Regulations at the CFPB, shares insights on what the 1033 rule means for the industry.
The Georgia Department of Banking and Finance approved Fiserv’s special banking charter application, making Fiserv the second company to secure a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank charter since Georgia introduced it in 2012. The charter enables Fiserv to access card networks directly and process credit card transactions without bank partnerships. This milestone could inspire other payment companies to pursue similar privileges and fundamentally reshape relationships between payment processors, banks, and card networks.
In the digital assets space, Stripe announced plans to acquire stablecoin platform Bridge for $1.1 billion, marking its largest acquisition to date and the most valuable deal in the cryptocurrency industry so far. Bridge, which has experienced tenfold business growth this year, provides stablecoin solutions for international transactions and serves notable clients including Coinbase and SpaceX. The acquisition follows Stripe’s recent re-entry into cryptocurrency through USDC stablecoin support across multiple blockchain networks including Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon.
Apple expanded its payment capabilities through a new partnership with Klarna, introducing buy-now-pay-later options for Apple Pay users in the United States and United Kingdom. The integration allows customers to split purchases into four interest-free payments at checkout, with plans to expand the service to Canada. This collaboration represents Apple’s strategic shift toward platform partnerships in the payments space, moving away from direct loan origination while expanding payment options for its users.
PayPal formally launched its advertising business, leveraging its vast shopping data to create a new revenue stream, following the May appointment of Mark Grether as SVP, General Manager of PayPal Ads. Grether previously led Uber’s advertising division. The initiative joins a broader trend of financial institutions developing financial media networks (FMNs), with companies like Klarna and Chase launching similar platforms as traditional profit margins face pressure. PayPal’s platform aims to enhance merchant advertising effectiveness through customer insights while providing personalized offers to consumers, positioning the company to compete in the digital advertising market while monetizing its vast consumer behavior data.
In fintech partnerships and M&A activity, Mercury secured a $100 million credit facility from Natixis to scale its corporate credit card business and expanded its banking network by partnering with Column. Working capital fintech Settle made a strategic move by acquiring inventory management platform Turbine, signaling a push toward more comprehensive financial solutions for businesses. Meanwhile, Bloom Credit and Taktile formed a strategic partnership to provide lenders with accelerated credit decisioning capabilities, integrating real-time credit bureau data through Bloom’s API into Taktile’s risk decision platform. Brex and Navan unveiled a partnership with the launch of BrexPay for Navan. The integrated solution combines Brex’s global corporate cards and payment infrastructure with Navan’s travel management platform. This strategic collaboration, developed through direct integration between both companies’ engineering teams, addresses longstanding challenges in enterprise travel management. Treasury Prime announced a new integration with ComplyCo to enhance banks’ monitoring capabilities and support fintechs in scaling responsibly.
- Network Spotlight
Meet one of the interesting companies in our network. We sat down with Albert Szmigielski, CEO at Fin3.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I am a technologist and a computer scientist, my focus has always been the application of technology, specifically computing science principles to the financial sector. Fin3 was founded in November 2021 as a technology and infrastructure provider to a consortium of banks. Late in 2022 we read about Article 12 of the Uniform Commercial Code and we decided that this change to the payments law enables us to create a novel payment method and process. We have embarked on that journey in Spring of 2023 with the support of Nyca Partners and Motivate Ventures.
What inspired the creation of Digital Drafts, and how does it address the issue of check fraud?
With the increasing digitization of financial transactions, check fraud has become a pressing concern for businesses, costing them millions annually. Traditional checks are vulnerable to various fraudulent tactics, including forgeries and alterations, which can lead to significant financial losses. In response to this challenge, Fin3 Technologies has developed Digital Drafts, an innovative solution that offers enhanced security and efficiency in payment processing.
Digital Drafts are electronic payment instruments that provide the same functionality as traditional checks but come equipped with advanced security features. By utilizing digital signatures and robust encryption technology, Digital Drafts ensure the authenticity of transactions and significantly reduce the likelihood of fraud.
How do you see Digital Drafts impacting the financial industry in the coming years?
The launch of Digital Drafts marks a significant step forward in the fight against check fraud. Fin3 Technologies aims to set a new industry standard for secure digital payments, encouraging adoption across various sectors. As the company forges partnerships with financial institutions and payment processors, the potential for widespread use of Digital Drafts is vast.
Our goal is to empower businesses and financial institutions with tools that not only enhance security but also streamline operations. With Digital Drafts, we are paving the way for a new era of digital payments that prioritize safety and efficiency.
How can people get a hold of you?
You can contact us either via our website www.fin3.tech or LinkedIn. Also, I can be reached directly at albert@fin3.tech, and our Head of Partnerships, Jeff Manchester, at jeff.manchester@fin3.tech.
One Personal Question: What did your grandparents do for a living?
My maternal grandmother was a teacher, my maternal grandfather was a retired army officer who spent his retirement raising animals. Before WWII he was also a teacher.
My paternal grandmother was a homemaker and my paternal grandfather was a railroad engineer and an army officer (colonel).
- Product Launches
Check out our selection of interesting new product launches!
Brex unveiled their Impact Dashboard with detailed spending metrics, enhanced search capabilities, and local-currency bill pay support, while also launching a revamped Accounting Partnership Program, a new interface for accounting firms to manage multiple client accounts with automated bookkeeping workflows and integration capabilities.
Stripe announced multiple updates including multi-processor support with Worldpay integration, USDC payment acceptance reaching 70+ countries in 24 hours, and Pay-by-Bank functionality integration into Stripe Link.
Green Dot launched Arc, an embedded finance platform combining banking and money processing capabilities with direct integration to Green Dot Bank, offering businesses cloud-based, modular banking-as-a-service solutions with enterprise-grade APIs and comprehensive program management.
Visa launched their new Visa Direct portfolio, combining four standalone money movement capabilities (Visa B2B Connect, Currencycloud, YellowPepper and Visa Direct) into a single solution with a new Visa Direct Connect API, alongside a comprehensive stablecoin-as-a-service platform enabling banks to issue and manage fiat-backed tokens on blockchain networks.
Mastercard unveiled Connect Plus for consumer data control, Move Commercial Payments for real-time cross-border transactions, and expanded its US Installments Program offering flexible payment options at checkout.
Mercury launched Employee Reimbursements, enabling direct expense submission and reimbursement through Mercury bank accounts.
Venmo introduced new scheduling features allowing users to set up one-time or recurring payments and payment requests.
Plaid expanded its offerings with a direct pay-by-bank solution for bill payments and new fraud calibration features with Trust Index for its Identity Verification product, and launched Investments Move, a streamlined solution for transferring investment holdings between brokerages using ACATS without manual entry or requiring assets to be liquidated.
Modern Treasury rolled out their fall release featuring expanded bank support, counterparty eligibility checks, and automatic ACH fallback for failed payments.
PayPal expanded its partnership with Global Payments to offer Fastlane, a one-click guest checkout solution that increases conversion rates by 50% and reduces checkout time by 28%.
NVIDIA unveiled their AI workflow for fraud detection running on AWS, featuring accelerated data processing and advanced algorithms to improve fraud detection accuracy by up to 40%.
Marqeta announced Marqeta Flex, a Buy Now, Pay Later solution developed with Branch, Klarna, and Affirm that enables embedded BNPL options within existing payment flows.
- Tala launched a non-custodial crypto wallet on the Stellar network in Peru, where over 50% of adults remain unbanked, as part of its mission to serve the 2.5 billion adults globally without traditional banking access.
- Team Viewpoint
We sat down with FS Vector Partner Ashwin Vasan for his perspective on the 1033 rule.
After three years at the CFPB helping craft the open banking rule, I see this moment as foundational: we’re establishing Americans’ fundamental right to access and share their financial data.
Starting with checking accounts and credit cards makes sense – they’re the backbone of consumer finance. But this is just the beginning: The framework the Bureau has built is designed to expand across the financial landscape over time.
What’s unique about the United States’ approach is that we’re not starting from zero. We already have a thriving, market-led open banking ecosystem. The 1033 rule aims to enhance what’s working by adding scale, reliability, and stronger privacy protections. It’s about finding that sweet spot between consumer empowerment and institutional risk management.
Since leaving the Bureau, I’ve gained new appreciation for how this will play out in practice. While the rule will set clear expectations around things like data elements and data access, institutions will retain flexibility in how they implement these requirements. And though payments weren’t initially front and center in the CFPB’s thinking, I’ve seen firsthand how payment initiation is driving tremendous energy in the market.
My advice to financial institutions? Don’t view this as just another compliance exercise. Think strategically about how consumer-permissioned data flows can both defend and grow your business. Those who embrace this transformation rather than just checking boxes will be the ones who thrive.
- FS Vector Calendar
Catch our team at the following events!
FS Vector Hosted Event
Post-election Conversation – What’s Next for Financial Services | November 20 | Washington, D.C.
Event FS Vector is attending
American Fintech Council Policy Summit 2024 | November 19 | Washington, D.C.