Extreme makeover, bank edition

Bank branches were once a staple of neighborhoods across America. Now they are closing by the thousands, writes Axios’ Kate Marino.

Why it matters: Like the transformation of brick-and-mortar retail, bank branches are trying to evolve from places to buy stuff into places to have an experience.

Driving the news: Most basic banking transactions can easily be accomplished from the couch, leaving 3,400 U.S. branches shuttered over the past 12 months, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

• In a bid to stay relevant, enter the makeovers. The new locations are more like mass-market wealth management centers without the lux look and feel.

What’s happening: These local hubs are morphing into centers for advice — on investments, mortgages, student loans or small business services. That means fewer tellers and more private meeting rooms.

Details: Coffee is big.

• Capital Onerolled out Capital One Cafes, featuring Peet’s Coffee shops and lounge areas. The cafe locations offer programs like free money coaching and financial wellness programs, says Shaun Rowley, senior director of Capital One Cafes.
• Chase Bank has a new “community center” model. These locations host community events, financial health workshops and small business pop-ups. Chase also has a partnership with Joe Coffee in one of its NYC

The intrigue: Even without baristas, banks are changing.

• Citizens Bankhas reduced its overall number of branches, and it’s transforming about half the remaining locations to put a focus on advice “in the moments that matter,” Bruce Van Saun, CEO of Citizens Financial Group, tells Axios.

 Πηγή: axios.com

 
Revolut $800 Million Funding Round Signifies Hot Fintech Market

 Revolut, a London-based financial app that has 16+ million global users, is the most valuable fintech startup in the UK at $33 billion

Fintech has become more popular than a white Telfar bag. After an $800 million funding round, Revolut, a London-based fintech startup, is now the UK’s biggest private company ever with a valuation of $33 billion. It was worth just $5.5 billion last year.

Revolut falls into the category of “neobanks,” which plug into traditional banking infrastructure and repackage it with a smooth, easy-to-navigate platform. Revolut allows users to bank, invest, transfer money, budget, or do anything else their financial heart desires.

 
Fintech investing > other kinds of investing

When you say, “Invest in my new fintech startup,” investors say, “How much?” $1 out of every $5 raised globally last quarter went to the fintech industry for a total of $33.7 billion, per CB Insights. With Stripe and Klarna, fintech boasts two of the five most valuable unicorns in the world.

It’s also clear that Europe doesn’t need help from Ted Lasso to build world-beating fintechs.

-Klarna, the Swedish buy-now-pay-later company responsible for the staggering amount of Girlfriend exercise dresses in your closet, snagged a $46 billion valuation last month.

-Wise, a British money-transfer app, was the first tech company to go public on the London Stock Exchange via direct listing last week. The company was valued at $11 billion and its listing was a huge win for the burgeoning fintech industry the country has been trying to birth since Brexit.

Zoom out: Venture capitalists are betting that fintech companies, with their focus on digital and their potential to attract the legions of underbanked or unbanked people in the world, will successfully disrupt incumbent banks.

Πηγή: morningbrew.com