Daily Tearsheet: : BofA’s record-breaking patents, and contactless payments, crypto cards, and PayPal’s issue with fraud
- Today on Tearsheet, we cover Bank of America's emphasis on innovation with patents as a way to keep score.
- We've also published Episode 2 of the What's Happening in Payments? podcast.
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Data Snack: Bank of America’s record-breaking 2021 in patents earned
Bank of America ended 2021 on a record-breaking note internally. The Charlotte-based bank registered 512 patents in the US, showing a 16% increase from the 444 patents it registered in 2020.
Behind the push to register patents is an expectation within the organization that innovation meaningfully enhances users’ experiences and financial lives, according to the announcement.
Furthermore, the recognition of this current period as one of unprecedented change drives the vision that delivering for customers and clients requires a strong focus on innovation.
What's Happening in Payments Ep. 2: Tap to mobile, crypto-backed cards, and PayPal's fraudulent accounts
Episode 2 of the What's Happening in Payments podcast is out. In it, Tearsheet's Ismail Umar covers:
The use of contactless payments has increased by 150% in the US since March 2019, and the UK recorded £66.5 billion in contactless transactions in the first six months of 2021 alone. Although tap to mobile is still in the early adoption stages, it’s growing fast.
Launched back in 2015, the first crypto-backed card in the US was developed by Shift (now known as Apto Payments), in collaboration with payment processing platform i2c and Visa on behalf of Coinbase. Since then, crypto-backed cards have become one of the world’s fastest-growing card categories.
PayPal recently identified and removed 4.5 million fraudulent accounts on its platform, as reported by CEO Dan Schulman during the firm’s Q4 2021 earnings call. After publishing its earnings report, the firm also saw its stock value slump by 25%, the largest single-day drop on record.
Just look at the charts
- Redefining the future of fintech
Source: Financial Technology Partners
2. Crypto markets notched sizable gains after Biden's executive order
Source: AZCOIN NEWS
Today's stories
A shot in the arm for the crypto market
U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday calling on the government to examine the risks and benefits of cryptocurrencies (CNBC)
Is Hong Kong's market a friendlier harbor?
The U.S. listed Chinese online lender Lufax reported a one-third rise in annual net profit and its first dividend, yet shares trade at only 5 times earnings as it fights through a thicket of new rules (Reuters)
Acorn ditches SPAC plans
Having dumped plans to go public via a SPAC, savings and investing app Acorns has raised $300 million from private investors at a $1.9 billion valuation (Finextra)
Marqeta reports strong Q4 & full-year 2021
Marqeta generated revenue of $155 million during the quarter while delivering a GAAP net loss of $37 million (Crowdfund Insider)
Slim Jim is bringing its meaty treats to the metaverse
The beloved meat stick brand is taking its trademarks deeper into Web 3 with plans to launch NFTs and its own virtual environment (CoinDesk)
Get paid faster
Branch, which powers faster payments to contract workers, has raised $75 million in a Series C funding round (TechCrunch)
State Street and Copper seal a crypto custody deal
State Street has entered a licensing agreement with Copper to develop and launch an institutional-grade digital asset custody product (CoinDesk)
Atlantic Money challenges Wise
Atlantic Money, a foreign exchange startup, plans to be cheaper than other foreign exchange services (TechCrunch)
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