FinTech News
Economic News
U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims Amounted to 860,000 Last Week
This morning, the United States Department of Labor released the latest unemployment insurance filing numbers showing that 860,000 workers applied for new benefits last week. The figure is down from an adjusted 893,000 the week prior and is a fraction of the near-record 6.6 million claims filed at the height of COVID-related shutdowns. It's also below the 870,000 that economists polled by MarketWatch had anticipated. Nevertheless, it's still four-times what...
FinTech News
Savings App Guac Launches Equity Crowdfunding Campaign
Over the past few months, the FinTech industry has seen a slew of funding rounds — including some that have climbed even after their original announcement. While these traditional venture capital-led rounds are certainly the norm, they aren't the only way for startups to raise funds. Case in point: this week, New World Savings, Inc., which operates the app Guac, announced that it was seeking seed funding via the equity...
Credit Card News
Emirates Announces Co-Branded Credit Cards with Barclays
Even though international travel may not be in the cards for most Americans at the moment, Emirates is moving ahead with the launch of its first U.S. credit card products. In partnership with Barclays, the airline has announced the debut of the Emirates Skywards Rewards World Elite Mastercard and the Emirates Skywards Premium World Elite Mastercard. Both cards will allow customers to accrue Skywards Miles with their purchases while also providing...
Small Business News
National Restaurant Association Survey Finds 1 in 6 Restaurants Remain Closed
If you've noticed that a number of your local restaurants have stayed closed since the pandemic struck, you're certainly not alone. In fact, 56% of Americans surveyed said that locations in their community had closed for good. Moreover, as the National Restaurant Association reports, these closures could worsen in the coming months. According to the Association's survey, one out of six restaurants in the United States remain closed (either permanently...
FinTech News
Robinhood Adjusts Options Trading Features Following Criticism
As the free stock trading app Robinhood continues to explode in popularity, the platform has also garnered some criticism and scrutiny. This not only includes a 2018 misstep that found that company backtracking on plans for a "Checking & Savings" account but has also continued with the Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly looking into whether the FinTech has properly disclosed to traders the ways that it makes money. Elsewhere, the...
Personal Finance
Americans Pay Down a Record $118 Billion in Credit Card Debt
Despite the economic hardships that abound, it seems that many Americans are actually managing to eliminate some of their most expensive debts. According to WalletHub's latest data, U.S. consumers paid down a total of $118 billion in credit card debt during the first half of 2020, amounting to an all-time record. Surprisingly, this paydown also comes amid high unemployment and other financial challenges associated with the pandemic and subsequent shutdowns....
FinTech News
