Happy Thursday everyone! We come to you today with a special edition of the newsletter. Due to the changing times and BNPL space, we wanted to provide an update to our Q3 BNPL Distribution Models framework, summarize the latest BNPL models, cover new entrants to the...

Greetings, Interest rates continue to climb, and home price increases slow. CFPB pushes banks on Zelle fraud. X1 card raises $25Mn. WebBank commits $250Mn to Avant facility. Mastercard expands startup programs. Affirm partners with SeatGeek. Lenders deploy...

Greetings, Inflation hit a new high. CBDCs and crypto remain top of regulators’ minds. Focus on overdrafts continues. CFPB sues Ace Cash Express. Kadmos raises $29.5Mn. Klarna confirms lower valuation. Upstart says funding “constrained.” Cross River teams with...

Greetings, Despite continued negative economic news, unemployment remains low. Commodity prices fall. Another 75 bps rate hike in the works? CFPB terminates Payactiv sandbox approval. Fed seeks new regional presidents. Tax startup April raises $30Mn. Commercial...

Greetings, The Fed’s focus is on getting inflation under control, even if that risks a recession. Zelle class-action suit dismissed. FTC sues Walmart over money transfer fraud. EWA platform Tapcheck raises $20Mn. Goldman leading group that may buy Celsius’ assets. FTX...

Greetings, Fed Chair Powell testifies. Home prices hit a record. Gas tax holiday on the table. FDIC proposes raising insurance assessments. Cleo raises $80Mn. Auto loan delinquencies on the rise. Circle keeps hiring. Klarna valuation could fall by two-thirds. BlockFi...

Greetings, The Fed raises rates by 0.75%. Officials acknowledge unemployment may rise. Abra partners with Amex on crypto card. Crypto lender Celsius freezes withdrawals. Coinbase and BlockFi do layoffs. Chase leverages data advantage. TD gives customers more repayment...

Greetings, Inflation is expected to moderate but remain elevated. Q2 GDP estimates weaken. Consumer credit surges. A bipartisan crypto bill gains steam. Custodia sues over Fed account access. Proper raises $4.3Mn. Apple enters the BNPL wars. Checkout.com to facilitate...

Greetings, Demand for workers remains high. Home prices lodge record gains. Turmoil in mortgage-backed bond market. Circle asks the Fed not to launch a CBDC. California ruling opens auto lenders to more liability. Viola Credit raises $700Mn fund. Tandym raises $60Mn...

Greetings, The Fed is committed to taming inflation. But rate hikes alone may not be enough to slow housing prices in the face of strong fundamentals. The CFPB is re-focusing on “competition” as a key vector to drive innovation. But the agency faces an existential...