What’s in the pipeline for MoneyLion?: 3 questions with CEO Dee Choubey

What's in the pipeline for MoneyLion?: 3 questions with Dee Choubey, co-founder & CEO of MoneyLion

After reporting a profitable December but net losses for Q4 and FY'22 -- what's underway for the firm?

by SARA KHAIRI

Earlier this month, MoneyLion reported its Q4'22 results with an improvement in adjusted revenue despite negative earnings throughout FY'22.

Tearsheet spoke to Dee Choubey, co-founder and CEO of MoneyLion, about where the company is headed and new areas of focus in 2023.

How are MoneyLion's acquisitions (MALKA and Even Financial), and the latest partnership with ColumnTax adding value to the firm?

Dee Choubey:

• Our solutions help people in times of need, through greater financial literacy and access, to a very broad range of the credit spectrum, and it's working.
• Through our two acquisitions, our emphasis on building out capabilities in enterprise and media has been transformational over the past year, providing tremendous value and mutual benefits for our consumers and enterprise customers alike -- as well as recognizing tremendous synergies for our business, including much lower CAC. 

What are the opportunities for neobanks in the current macroeconomic climate?

Dee Choubey:

• It’s been a unique time in banking when there are new players in the ecosystem offering various options for consumers, that are more in touch with modern modality - e.g., digital-centric, open banking, etc.
• The term “neobank” is a bit outdated as a blanket term, it suggests new or emerging or alternative. Digital financial services providers have become large and established. In many cases offering better, more digital-savvy, more accessible, and inclusive services, which is why consumers are adopting them. 
• By putting its customers in control of their finances, MoneyLion changes the game for how financial content and recommendations are delivered. MoneyLion helps consumers achieve financial freedom through unique content and products, engaging customers in a way that appeals to them - through short-form video content and recommendations, personalized to a customer’s needs and current financial situation. 

What’s next for MoneyLion in 2023?

Dee Choubey:

• We most recently announced the rebrand of Even Financial, the award-winning embedded finance platform for enterprise businesses, to Engine by MoneyLion on March 21st.
• The Engine by MoneyLion brand is designed to reflect the expanded breadth and capabilities of the combined company, while continuing to focus on its premier financial product search engine, API, and embedded finance marketplace SaaS platform, delivering personalized recommendations through any consumer touchpoint. 
• Our enterprise offering takes our best-in-class assets for financial products, marketplaces, content, and data and makes them available B2B -- we will continue taking this unparalleled offering to the next level.
• Additionally, for 2023, we are putting a focus on lifecycle marketing and automation.

Market recap

Fintech stocks continued to be a mixed bag in the past week

Marqeta - up 15% to $4.16 per share

• Marqeta's recently completed acquisition of software card-issuing peer Power Finance has started to pay off.
• The new integration is helping Marqeta expand into the credit segment of the card payments space.

Alphabet - down 5% to $101.32 per share

• Mounting competition in artificial intelligence and internet search has impacted Google-parent Alphabet shares.
• Google aims to counter Microsoft's investment in startup OpenAI by making its own generative AI tools available to software developers. But will integrating chatbot AI technology into search queries lower Google's profit margins and further impact its stock?

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