5 fintech trends worth tracking this week

1. Why banks like BMO are testing Pay by Selfie technology(Tradestreaming): Security is top of mind in finance and biometrics are just one way to address the issue. BMO is rolling out Pay by Selfie technology, developed by MasterCard, that will require the cardholder to snap a picture of him/herself at the point of purchase. But for banks like BMO, it’s not just about security.

2. An inside look at Wall Street’s secret client list (Bloomberg): There’s a secret list that Citigroup keeps on its equity-research desk at its swank campus in Tribeca. And if you’re not on it — well, you might as well be nobody. At the top is a handful of hedge-fund giants, the “Focus Five,” that bring in big money for Citigroup: Millennium, Citadel, Surveyor Capital, Point72 and Carlson Capital, according to a person with direct knowledge of the list. It represents a growing trend on Wall Street where the most-lucrative clients get the best service: the top trade ideas, hours-long calls with analysts, intimate soirees with executives, bespoke trading models, etc.

3. 9 alarming facts about online lending (Tradestreaming): Billions of dollars have been poured into the online lending sector and tens of billions of dollars of loans underwritten. But beyond mainstream media’s fawning over online lending, something strange is afoot. Here are 9 data points that may alarm you about the space. *Further reading: As a venture capitalist, Frank Rotman (QED Investors) has invested in some of the most successful online lenders around the world. He addresses the changing environment in a post he has on American Banker, Answers to These Four Questions Will Determine Online Lenders’ Fate.

4. Is human capital investing finally going to be a thing?(Tradestreaming): Recently, entrants have come and gone to a form of financing called, income share agreements. Instead of taking out lengthly bank or federal loans to pay for college, ISAs give students the ability to pay back a percentage of their future earnings. Cumulus Funding, a new player, is the latest, and more recently funded, player to try their hand at ISAs.

5. Understanding the financial squeeze on Millennials (Bloomberg) :It may be that each generation is “free” to choose to consume or invest as much as it wants…But it’s certainly true that the U.S. and most other Western countries have invested less in the last 35 years than they did in the previous 35. That means that the baby boomers left their kids less, relative to their own consumption, than their own parents did. In a time of slowing productivity, that has been a tough blow to today’s youngsters.

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