Fintech Focus For January 7, 2021

Quote To Start The Day: Don’t try to beat the competitors at their own game. You have to invent a new game — and master it.

Source: Reid Hoffman

One Big Thing In Fintech: The COVID-19 crisis has put pressure on banks to improve their digital offering as lockdowns have forced customers to use applications and online banking rather than visit branches. Buying up small, innovative fintechs can be a faster and more effective way for banks to improve their tech offerings, and the infrastructure that supports them, than building their own solutions. But given the punishing year that lenders have had, and the bleak economic outlook for 2021, their capacity for larger deals will be constrained.

Source: S&P Global

Other Key Fintech Developments:

• Meet TradeUP, the brokerage firm.
• QuantaVerse adds enhancements.
• Archax boasts sustainable model.
• Fintech startups view crypto boom.
• Amber Group added Yield Boost.
• Digital banking in Malaysia grows.
• Cyber attacks targeting insurance.
• HSBC, Silent Eight dealing on tech.
• Elm Street acquires VoicePad tech.
• Analysis on ESG meeting fintechs.
• Green Dot adds GO2bank feature.
• Goldman, Trumid form partnership.
• Xignite winning technology awards.
• QUODD, Nanex partnered on data.

Watch Out For This: Democratic candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff have won runoff races in the southern state of Georgia, The Associated Press news agency has projected.

Source: Al Jazeera

Interesting Reads:

• Soldiers equipped with self-destruct.
• Twitter adds pop-up to Trump video.
• Woman shot in the Capitol has died.
• Gary Cohn joins IBM, eyes strategy.
• Build successful API programs, tech.
• Trading desks staff up over BTC run.

Market Moving Headline: The Federal Reserve was nearly unanimous in its decision last month to leave its bond-buying program unchanged, but left a wide berth for officials to decide in the future if and when changes should be made, according to minutes of the U.S. central bank’s December policy meeting.

Source: Reuters