Category: StartUps

Some consolidation is underway in the world of challenger banking apps. BBVA today told users of Simple — the pioneering mobile and online banking app that it acquired for $117 million in 2014 — that it is planning to shut down the service, moving accounts to BBVA’s USA business in the process.

The move is part of an ongoing effort at BBVA — which had been an active investor and acquirer of startups — to streamline its business as it works on closing a merger with PNC. The latter bank announced in November last year that it would acquire the US business of BBVA for $11.6 billion.

In a note Simple sent out earlier today to users — being shared on Twitter by a number of them — the bank said that it will be transitioning their accounts to be serviced by BBVA USA, which already housed the accounts.

“BBVA USA has made the strategic decision to close Simple,” the note reads. “There is no immediate impact to your accounts at Simple and nothing you need to do at this time. Since your deposits are already housed at BBVA USA, they will remain in FDIC insured accounts there, up to the applicable limits. In the future, you Simple account will become exclusively services by BBVA USA, but until then you can continue to access your account and your money through the Simple app or online at Simple.com.”

Users will receive more details in the future about the transition to BBVA, the note continued.

The response from Simple customers has been predictably downbeat. Users migrated to the service specifically to have a faster and more modern experience compared to what they were getting through previous, incumbent providers.

And even though Simple ultimately ended up getting acquired by one of those incumbents — BBVA, headquartered in Spain, is one of the largest banks in the world — it was run largely independently of its owner, as part of BBVA’s attempt to bring on more modern services to attract a younger class of users.

We have contacted both BBVA and Simple for further comment, and BBVA’s statement confirming the shutdown is now at the bottom of this email.

So far, it looks like only the emailed notification is the only announcement of the changes for customers directly: there are no alerts within the bank’s mobile app, nor any announcements on the Simple website.

It is unclear how many users Simple has currently. It had around 100,000 users when it was acquired back in 2014, and some might say that the startup was ahead of its time.

In the years between it launching and now, we’ve seen an explosion in the number and popularity of of so-called neobanks or challenger banks around the world, including Nubank, Chime, Current, N26, Revolut, Monzo, and many more turning what seemed like a radical concept into one that is now fairly commonplace.

Tapping into using a set of APIs to bundle services, and sitting on top of other banks’ infrastructure, these neobanks are more fleet of foot, and provide more modern interfaces on more modern platforms (such as mobile apps), foregoing some of the traditional trappings of banking like visiting physical locations and transacting with tellers, and replacing them with algorithms that, for example, help people manage their finances through the month by analyzing their spend and suggesting ways to save money or organize their finances in a better way.

The turn in events for Simple plays into some of the precariousness of using newer “challenger” banking services: there is always a risk with smaller services that they might not stick around as solidly as their incumbent counterparts — although recent years and bigger banking crises have definitely overturned some of those concepts.

For its part, Simple has not always been perfect. The company has at times turned off certain features — such as Bill Pay, or types of customer accounts — without warning, leaving users scrambling to replace them alternatives.

The question will be now whether users decide to stick with BBVA or turn to exploring another challenger: there are, after all, many options to consider these days.

We’ll update this post as we learn more.

Update: Here is BBVA’s statement:

BBVA USA continually evaluates strategic priorities and resources, including existing and potential partnerships with outside organizations. We have taken the opportunity of the pending merger with PNC to reassess our goals for BBVA USA, so that we’re focused on the things that make the most sense for the company’s future whether on a standalone basis or a potentially combined basis with PNC. As a result, today we’re accelerating some changes and stopping work on others, including the closing of Simple. These reviews are part of our normal processes, and have resulted in other ventures being closed in the past year or so based on performance and the economic environment, including Covault (2020) and Denizen (2019).

Simple customers already have a dual relationship with BBVA USA and Simple. We will be migrating these customers to the award-winning BBVA USA mobile app. Those same customers will become PNC customers upon the close of acquisition, which is subject to customary closing conditions. As part of BBVA USA, Simple customers will have access to a much broader suite of products and services, alongside the bank’s award-winning mobile app, which includes BBVA Financial Tools.

Source: Tech Crunch

This year, Americans grappled with fear of infection, incredible loss of loved ones, financial stress, isolation and fatigue from constant uncertainty to name a few. Even though we are getting closer to returning to normality as vaccines start to roll out, we can’t write COVID-19 off just yet. We are only now beginning to see the long-lasting effects of the pandemic, specifically its dramatic impact on the mental health crisis in the United States and unfortunately, mental illness has no vaccine.

Nearly 45 million American adults live with mental illness, which has only been exacerbated this year as more than two in five U.S. residents reported struggling with mental health issues as a result of COVID-19.

Even more concerning, according to the World Health Organization, prior to the pandemic, countries around the world were spending less than 2% of national health budgets on mental health, while struggling to meet their populations’ needs. It’s evident that there is not only a lack of focus on mental healthcare, but a lack of access as well.

We’ve seen a recent influx in telemedicine and telehealth services, and provided these solutions are evidence-based and effective, this is the only way for us to scale the widespread demand for support. Put simply, we don’t have enough clinical staff to go around.

When I practiced psychiatry in the U.K.’s National Health Services (NHS), I quickly realized that we were seeing patients too late, sometimes years too late, such that they had far more serious needs than if they had been able to access good quality care earlier. Back then it was clear to me this level of supply-demand gap could only be resolved by deploying technology at scale, and the events of the last year have only reinforced that.

Investors have taken note as well, with many mental health startups raising capital. It’s clear that business leaders have begun to prioritize innovation as a way to pull ourselves out of crisis, with a renewed focus on products adapted to a changed world. We’ve already seen a massive uptick in digital mental health solutions with about 76% of clinicians solely treating patients via telemedicine. The clearest path for managing mental health at scale will be evidence-based, ethical and personalized digital solutions.

Not only will this influx help those who desire flexible care options, but telehealth has also increased the access to care for people who may have limited options in their local communities.

While increasing in popularity, digital mental health solutions have some important challenges to overcome. For one, they must win consumer trust and prove that they can handle personal data ethically and responsibly. With 81% of Americans feeling that the risks of sharing personal data outweigh the benefits, providers must show that they can responsibly secure users’ personal health data due to the sensitive nature of the information and ultimately gain that trust.

This must go beyond compliance with HIPAA and, in Europe, GDPR, and require the development and implementation of an ethical framework to underpin a provider’s digital mental health solutions. However, such efforts must be genuine and avoid falling into the trap of “ethics washing,” so I encourage providers to have the ethics frameworks audited by external experts and to commit to publishing the results.

Digital solutions must also be able to meet the needs of users on an individualized and personalized basis. Many apps meant to help manage mental health take a one-size-fits-all approach and don’t take enough advantage of the technology’s ability to adapt to peoples’ unique symptoms and personal preferences. This is not simply about offering more than one type of intervention, although that is important, it’s the recognition that people engage in technology in different ways.

For instance, at Koa Health we know that some users love going through a program in a step-by-step fashion, whereas others prefer to dip into activities as they need them, and it’s important that we cater equally well for both of these preferences. Generic approaches simply won’t work well for everyone.

Not only do digital solutions need to be responsible with data and be tailored to users, they must work harder to prove their efficacy. Recent research has shown that 64% of mental health apps claimed efficacy yet only 14% included any evidence. The growth in the adoption of technology is encouraging, but positive impact will only result from products designed for efficacy — and able to demonstrate it in high-quality trials. The stronger the evidence base for effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, the more likely healthcare providers and insurers will be to distribute the solutions.

While vaccines are on their way, the mental health impacts of the pandemic may soon overshadow the direct impacts of the pandemic. While health tech has made promising progress, it’s imperative that digital mental healthcare places a stronger emphasis on effective, ethical and personalized care to avert an even larger mental health crisis.

Source: Tech Crunch

Mobile advertising company Tapjoy has settled with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over allegations that it was misleading consumers about the in-app rewards they could earn in mobile games. According to the FTC, Tapjoy deceived consumers who participated in various activities — like purchasing a product, signing up for a free trial, providing their personal information like an email address, or completing a survey — in exchange for in-game virtual currency. But when it was time to pay up, Tapjoy’s partners didn’t deliver.

As a result of the ruling, Tapjoy will have to clean up its business by monitoring the offers from advertisers presented to consumers and conspicuously display the terms that explain how rewards are earned. It will also be required to follow through to ensure the offers are delivered and investigate consumer complaints if they are not. Failure to follow the terms of the settlement will result in further fines of up to $43,280 per each violation, the FTC says.

Tapjoy’s business model has been to serve as an intermediary between advertisers, gamers and game developers. The mobile game developers integrate its technology to display the ads — aka “offers” — to their own customers, in order to earn payments for their users’ activity. When the consumer completes the offer by taking whatever action was required, they’re supposed to earn in-game coins or other virtual currency. The app developers then earn a percentage of that ad revenue.

But that often wasn’t happening, the FTC said. Players would jump through hoops, even sometimes spending money and turning over their sensitive data, only to get nothing in return.

What’s more, it said Tapjoy was aware its partners were cheating these consumers and did take action, even when “hundreds of thousands” of consumers filed complaints. This also harmed the game developers, who were cheated out of the promised ad revenues they would have otherwise earned.

“Tapjoy promised gamers in-app rewards for completing advertising offers made by its partners, but then often didn’t deliver,” said Frank Gorman, Acting Deputy Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a statement. “When companies like Tapjoy make promises that depend on their partners’ performance, they’re on the hook to make sure those promises are kept.”

The FTC said Tapjoy’s conduct violated both the FTC Act’s prohibition on unfair business practices as well as the prohibition on deceptive practices. It will now have to actively work to weed out the fraud in its industry, otherwise Tapjoy itself will be held accountable.

App platforms like Apple and Google have struggled with shady ad businesses for years, which target their own customers.

More recently, Apple implemented a policy that requires developers to disclose on its app store listing what sort of information the app collects from customers and how that data is used to track users. This policy also wraps in whatever third-party ad technology may be integrated into the app.

The move is a not-so-subtle push to get developers to stop working with bad actors (like Tapjoy, allegedly) in order monetize their apps and games, and instead turn to a business model where Apple profits: subscriptions. Apple, brilliantly, has positioned this as a fight for consumer privacy and not for consumer dollars.

What’s interesting about this FTC ruling is that it lays the fault for Tapjoy and others like it directly at the platforms’ feet.

Commissioners Rohit Chopra and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, in a joint statement, described Tapjoy as “a minnow next to the gatekeeping giants of the mobile gaming industry, Apple and Google.”

“By controlling the dominant app stores, these firms enjoy vast power to impose taxes and regulations on the mobile gaming industry, which was generating nearly $70 billion annually even before the pandemic. We should all be concerned that gatekeepers can harm developers and squelch innovation,” the statement reads. “The clearest example is rent extraction: Apple and Google charge mobile app developers on their platforms up to 30% of sales, and even bar developers from trying to avoid this tax through offering alternative payment systems,” they said.

The Commissioners noted, too, that “larger gaming companies” are pursuing legal action against these practices — a reference to Epic Games’ Fortnite lawsuit against Apple over the App Store commissions. But it said smaller developers fear retaliation for speaking up, as it could end up destroying their business if they were to be banned from the app stores.

In other words, the FTC blames the app store business model itself for leading developers to turn to companies like Tapjoy to sustain themselves.

“This market structure also has cascading effects on gamers and consumers. Under heavy taxation by Apple and Google, developers have been forced to adopt alternative monetization models that rely on surveillance, manipulation, and other harmful practices,” the statement reads.

This is not the first FTC action that has resulted from the fallout of the modern app store business model. Last year, the FTC went after kids’ app developer HyperBeard for its use of third-party ad trackers that were used to serve behavioral advertising, in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

Apple is being given a lot of credit in recent weeks for its privacy push, with the launch of its so-called app store “nutrition labels” that help to better highlight the bad actors in the mobile app market. But some of the recent reporting has lacked balance.

Many reports neglect to explain why these alternative business models rose in the first place. The also often don’t detail how Apple will financially benefit from the shift to subscriptions that will result from this mobile ad clampdown. Plus, it’s rarely noted that Apple itself serves behavioral advertising within its own apps which is based on the user data it collects from across its catalog of first-party apps and services. That’s not to say that Apple isn’t doing a service with its privacy push, but it’s a complex matter — this isn’t sports. You don’t have to pick one side or the other.

The Commissioners in their joint statement also hinted that regulation will soon come to the app platform providers, Apple and Google as well, not just mobile ad middlemen like Tapjoy.

“…when it comes to addressing the deeper structural problems in this marketplace that threaten both gamers and developers, the Commission will need to use all of its tools – competition, consumer protection, and data protection – to combat middlemen mischief, including by the largest gaming gatekeepers,” they said.

Source: Tech Crunch

Snapchat was among the first apps to leverage the iPhone 12 Pro’s LiDAR Scanner for AR, but now TikTok has followed suit. The social video app confirmed today it has launched its first-ever lidar-powered effect to help its users ring in the new year. The effect features an AR ball, similar to the one that drops in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. After a countdown, the ball drops and explodes to fill the room with confetti, as well as a floating “2021” in the air.

Support for lidar, or light detection and ranging, was introduced on the new flagship 5G iPhone models, the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max, in the fall. The technology helps the iPhone better understand the world around you, by measuring how long it takes for light to reach an object in the space and reflect back.

Along with improvements to the iPhone’s machine learning capabilities and dev frameworks, this allows for more immersive augmented reality (AR) experiences.

Snapchat, an early adopter of the technology, had first used the new LiDAR Scanner to create a Lens in its app where flowers and grasses would grow in the room around you. The Lens included virtual vegetation that even climbed up the walls and around the cabinets in the room, for example.

Similarly, TikTok’s effect aims to use lidar’s understanding of the room to land the confetti more realistically after the ball explodes.

In the example video the company published on Twitter, it showed the confetti covering the floor, sofa and throw pillows, much as it would in real life. This effect wasn’t perfect by any means — it was still very clear this was an AR experience and not real confetti — but it was an improvement over AR effects that lack the same spatial awareness.

TikTok described the effect as being able to visually bridge the digital and physical worlds, thanks to how the AR effects interact with the user’s environment.

Of course, fun AR effects are only one of many use cases for something like lidar. The technology is also being adopted by apps that let you scan to create 3D models, like 3D Scanner App, or those that help with interior design, like RoomScan LiDAR, or even games, like the Apple Arcade title, Hot Lava.

TikTok says it plans to roll out “more innovative effects” over the course of 2021.

Source: Tech Crunch

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued new final rules to help pave the way for the re-introduction of supersonic commercial flight. The U.S. airspace regulator’s rules provide guidance for companies looking to gain approval for flight testing of supersonic aircraft under development, which includes startups like Boom Supersonic, which has just completed its sub-scale supersonic demonstrator aircraft and hopes to begin flight testing it this year.

Boom, which is in the process of finalizing a $50 million funding round and has raised around $150 million across prior fundraising efforts, rolled out its XB-1 supersonic demonstrator jet in October. This test aircraft is smaller than the final design of its Overture passenger supersonic commercial airliner, but will be used to prove out the fundamental technologies in flight that will then be used to construct Overture, which the company is targeting for a 2025 rollout with airline partners.

Other startups, including Hermeus, are also pursuing supersonic flight for commercial use. Meanwhile, SpaceX and others focused on spaceflight like Virgin Galactic are exploring not only supersonic flight, but how point-to-point flight that includes part of the trip at the outer edge of Earth’s atmosphere might reduce flight times dramatically and turn long-haul flights into much shorter, almost regional trips.

The FAA’s rules finalization comes in under the wire as the agency prepares for a transition when current U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao moves aside for incoming Biden pick Pete Buttigieg. You can read the full FAA final rule in the embed below.

Source: Tech Crunch