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TODAY in the Executive Members' Community | YILN | March 14, 2025

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📢 Top Headlines

💰 MoonPay Makes a Power Move
MoonPay has acquired Iron, bringing secure stablecoin payments to its customers and partners. With Iron’s developer-first APIs, companies can now move money in real-time and even make money on their reserves via U.S. Treasury bills. Nothing like making money on your money. 📎 [Read More]

📉 SoFi Locks in a $5 Billion Loan Deal
SoFi has finalized a $5 billion loan agreement with Blue Owl Capital, marking its largest deal of this kind. The two-year agreement focuses on personal loans, with Blue Owl betting big on SoFi’s lending platform. If you’re wondering, Blue Owl manages a casual $250 billion in assets—so, yeah, they have some confidence in this one. 📎 [Read More]

💸 Elizabeth Warren vs. the Stablecoin Bill
Senator Elizabeth Warren isn’t here for the new stablecoin bill, calling it a free pass for Elon Musk to launch "X Money" without proper consumer protections. Because if there’s one thing Musk needs, it’s even more financial control. 📎 [Read More]

🛑 Dodge Cancels 200,000 Government Credit Cards
Dodge has axed 200,000 government-issued credit cards to curb federal spending—though disaster relief cards remain untouched. Meanwhile, FDA employees say they’re now struggling to order basic lab supplies. What’s a little regulatory oversight between friends? 📎 [Read More]

🛍️ PayPal’s Big Rebrand Strategy
PayPal is doubling down on its branded business, revamping merchant tech, expanding BNPL, and pushing for wider Venmo acceptance. The goal? Revive growth and stay relevant. If you care about PayPal’s future, this deep dive is worth a read. 📎 [Read More]

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🔥 Inside the Trump-Binance Deal Talks

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Trump family has been in discussions with Binance US—yes, the same Binance whose former CEO, Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, pleaded guilty to federal charges. Meanwhile, CZ is hoping a Trump presidency could mean a pardon for his past sins.

Coincidence? Probably not.

While the article doesn’t explicitly link these two events, one can’t help but connect the dots: CZ needs a get-out-of-jail-free card, and the Trump family might be looking for some new crypto investments. What could possibly go wrong? 📎 [Read More]

📊 Market Movers & Industry Trends

🚀 The Five Startups Taking on Visa & Mastercard
A new wave of fintechs is gunning for Visa and Mastercard’s dominance. Who’s leading the charge? Ripple (cross-border payments), Strike (Bitcoin’s Lightning Network), Clavaa (zero-cost processing), Flexa (crypto payments at checkout), and Trustly (pay-by-bank solutions). Keep an eye on these challengers. 📎 [Read More]

🎟️ The Future of Loyalty Points as Currency?
Finextra explores the idea of using brand loyalty points as a currency, something Starbucks technically pioneered but never fully capitalized on. If done right, this could be a game-changer for consumer spending. 📎 [Read More]

🏦 Lead Bank’s CEO Reinvents Community Banking
Meet Jacqueline Reses—former Yahoo, Square, and U.S. Treasury executive—who purchased and transformed a Kansas City community bank into a fintech powerhouse. 📎 [Read More]

📉 Crypto Investment is Down 85% from Its Peak
Despite the Trump Administration’s crypto-friendly stance, venture capital funds aren’t rushing in. Investment in crypto startups is down 85% from its 2021 peak, signaling investor hesitation across the board. 📎 [Read More]

💳 Barclays Sells Its Merchant Acquiring Business
Barclays is exiting the merchant acquiring game, selling its business to Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management. Expect more reshuffling in the payments industry soon. 📎 [Read More]

💡 YILN’s Quick Takes

📌 FedNow Onboarding Just Got a Guide
The Federal Reserve has published a step-by-step guide to onboarding with FedNow. They’re calling it a "best-in-class experience." We’ll let the banks be the judge of that.

📌 Mastercard Wants You to Know More About Tap & Go
Mastercard has released a "What You Need to Know" guide about contactless payments. Spoiler: it’s faster and more secure than swiping.

📌 AI is Driving Shopping Decisions
A new study says 62% of consumers are using AI to research purchases—even if they end up buying in-store. That number is even higher among younger generations.

📌 De-Local Expands Gaming Payments
Payments platform De-Local is partnering with Koda, a leader in digital content monetization, to enhance gaming payment options in emerging markets.

📌 Forbes is Basically a Sponsored Content Machine
We’d love to report on Forbes’ fintech coverage, but it’s mostly pay-to-play now. If we’re skipping some stories from them, now you know why.

📢Links to stories from today’s episode:

• The Paypers | MoonPay acquires Iron | Link

• The Paypers | SoFi finalises USD 5 bln loan agreement with Blue Owl Capital | Link

• The Street | Stablecoin bill from Elizabeth Warren highlights consumer risks | Link

• American Banker | The GENIUS Act: existential threat to banks or opportunity? | Link

• USA Today | Doge cancels government credit cards | Link

• Payments Dive | PayPal is bolstering merchants with branded payments, BNPL, Venmo | Link

• WSJ | Trump family has held deal talks with Binance following crypto exchange’s guilty plea | Link

• Banking Dive | CFPB halts DEI initiatives, causing internal turmoil | Link

• TechCrunch | Anthropic CEO says spies are after $100M AI secrets | Link

• Finextra | These 5 startups are coming after Visa and Mastercard’s empire | Link

• Finextra | Move over cash: why points could be the future of currency | Link

• CNBC | How Jackie Reses rose from a gritty childhood to the top of fintech | Link

• This Week in Fintech | The Weekly Stable Vol. 8 | Link

• Sky News | Barclays and Brookfield close to £650M UK payments deal | Link

• The Paypers | APEXX Global integrates with JP Morgan Payments' partner network | Link

• Digital Transactions | The EPC takes aim at the CCCA and Illinois’s interchange law | Link

• FedNow | FedNow Service Onboarding: What Financial Institutions Need to Know | Link

• The Defiant | Crypto funding struggles to reclaim last cycle’s highs | Link

• Mastercard | Contactless 101: What You Need to Know About Tap-and-Go | Link

• dLocal | dLocal and Coda announce global strategic partnership in gaming payments | Link

• Convenience.org | Merchants Payments Coalition Partners with Crypto Firms | Link

• Chain Store Age | Survey: GenAI Gains Ground in Consumers’ Product Research | Link

• Mayer Brown | OCC Streamlines Process for Cryptocurrency Activities by Banks | Link

• Payments Dive | Payments industry faces further merger and acquisition consolidation | Link

• JD Supra | Why traditional banks keep failing at crypto custody | Link

• IRS | Tax Time Guide: Use IRS Electronic Payment Options | Link

• AP | Direct File IRS program confusion | Link

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