H&R Block leverages Galileo for mobile banking

Today, in the connected economy, H&R Block is turning to FinTech Galileo to power its Spruce mobile banking platform, and China’s Tencent is teaming up with Korea’s WireBarley.

Also, in some sobering news about how many people are living paycheck to paycheck, Wheel CEO Michelle Davey tells Karen Webster of PYMNTS how the lines are blurring between care to virtual and in-office patients, and more.

FinTech Galileo Powers H&R Block’s Spruce Mobile Banking

Galileo’s financial technology powers Spruce, H&R Block’s mobile banking platform. Launched in January, Spruce offers a spending account with a debit card, a connected savings account, paycheck early access, and an overdraft platform.

“Spruce entered the market at a time when consumers across all demographic groups are increasingly embracing digital banking solutions,” Galileo said in a press release. “In fact, 44% of U.S. consumers use digital-only banks as their primary or secondary account, while 61% of consumers say they are somewhat or very likely to switch to a digital-only bank as their primary provider, according to research. of Galileo.”

Korean fintech WireBarley collaborates with TenCent on payments to China

Korean money transfer service WireBarley works with Tencent Financial Technology for overseas remittances, becoming the first Korean FinTech to collaborate on inbound remittance service in China via Weixin, China’s version of WeChat from Tencent.

“The partnership between the two technology companies is expected to further enhance overall user convenience,” the companies said. “When a WireBarley user sends money to China, a recipient can now easily receive the money through Weixin, which has gradually evolved from a social communication app to a way of life in China.”

Weixin will become a payment option for transfers to China from WireBarley’s 11 sending countries, including Korea, the United States and Canada.

Paycheck-to-paycheck consumer ranks set to swell in 2022

Some recent research by PYMNTS and LendingClub revealed some sobering data: 61% of consumers were living paycheck to paycheck in December, a number that has been rising steadily since May and now approaching pre-pandemic levels.

Anuj Nayar, head of financial health at LendingClub, told PYMNTS the numbers are likely to rise as macroeconomic factors – inflation, in particular – continue to hamper attempts to save money. for the proverbial rainy day.

“It’s not good news,” Nayar said. “There’s a lot of pressure because people are just trying to get back to normal.”

Marqeta, Plaid Team on ACH Transfers for Marqeta Client Accounts

Global card-issuing platform Marqeta has partnered with the Plaid data network, which powers programs that simplify automated clearing house (ACH) transfers and bank account authentication methods.

The companies say the new technology will make it easier for Marqeta customers to initiate ACH transactions and more quickly verify and link external accounts.

Additionally, Marqeta customers will have the ability to update users on transfer statuses with real-time notifications and support initiation, cancellations, and rollbacks using APIs. application (API) of Marqueta.

“Telehealth 2.0” will blur the lines between virtual and in-office care

As healthcare – like everything else – moves towards omnichannel approaches using platform efficiency and capabilities, now is the perfect time for this vital sector to modernize. The move to connected healthcare is being championed by a growing number of innovators, including Wheel.

“The very beginning of what we call ‘Telehealth 1.0′ was really about mimicking an in-person visit and bringing it online,” Wheel founder and CEO Michelle Davey told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster. “Now, virtual care is much more than just telehealth.”

This change means clinicians are going to patients’ homes, Davey said.

“We see clues around the house, their surroundings,” she continued. “We can see things like temperatures in the house. We get a lot more data points than we were [from] hospitalized, and we use them to do the right treatment and care [plans] for the sick. »

Privacy Coin Monero may face its own security issues

As a so-called privacy coin, Monero is designed to prevent anyone from tracking it by breaking the chain linking transactions. However, it now faces a potential crisis as a growing concentration of power calls into question the safety of such transactions.

Blockchain transactions are considered immutable, but there’s a big asterisk next to that statement: a 51% attack, which allows anyone who takes control of more than half of the computing power used to mine data. rewards by adding a new block of transactions to a blockchain to gain control. This would allow them to double the funds used in transactions, thus making payments made through Monero untrustworthy.

The problem comes from the growth of one of the Monero mining pools – individual miners pooling computing power and rewards. At this point, this pool has come to control 44% of that computing power, or hash power, which makes it far too close to majority ownership for comfort.

Platoon Operations, Exit Supply Chain Managers

Peloton has revamped its operations, laying off workers and bringing in new management. Departures include chief operating officer Mariana Garavaglia, chief commercial officer Brad Olson and Jon Adee, who was in charge of supply chain.

The departures highlight the impact of recent weeks on the business, with some investors saying they hope the reshuffle will make Peleton more attractive to a suitor.

New CEO Barry McCarthy, formerly of Spotify Technology, said he was focused on turning the business around and was not considering selling the exercise equipment maker. McCarthy says other opportunities are available, including doubling the company’s on-demand content offerings, expanding into new businesses and adding products..