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Reward shoppers with brand ownership: Bumped expands with new browser extension

Brand loyalty is no longer simply tied to a good product. Companies are looking for deeper connections with individual customers to establish reliable retention and adherence. This has created a world where brands not only want to align themselves ideologically with their target market and facilitate their specific shopping habits, but also reward them for their loyalty.

All sorts of methods have been tried and tested with rewards programs, such as awarding points on purchases or offering discounts on partner brands. Portland, Oregon-based Bumped has gone one step further and built a network that rewards customers with equity from the brands they buy from. The firm compares this to “bringing Wall Street to Main Street”.

As of this month, the Bumped Network has expanded to include a browser extension – which notifies online shoppers whenever their purchase is eligible for a stock reward.

Read more

The last briefing

Lending Briefing: BNPL Regulation and the Growing Digital Lending Market

The Buy Now, Pay Later space is growing aggressively, on track to grow 5x in two years to reach $100 billion in retail purchases in 2021. But to ensure sustainable growth for the BNPL industry and protect consumers, regulation is urgently needed, according to a new research paper led by Marshall Lux at the Harvard Kennedy School suggests.

Lux is a thought leader in the financial services space, with over three decades of experience as a consultant and practitioner. He also served as Director of Consumer Products Risk for JPMorgan Chase during the global financial crisis.

In his research and our conversation, Lux expressed concern about how consumers might be affected by the largely unregulated BNPL market.

Learn more (exclusive to Outlier members)

Just look at the charts

1. Crypto trading infrastructure is catching up with traditional stock trading infrastructure

Source: Steve McLaughlin FT

2. Mortgage payments are becoming unaffordable due to rising rates and high house prices

Source: Markets and chaos

today’s stories

Robinhood to lay off 9% of its full-time employees
Retail brokerage Robinhood is downsizing, citing ‘duplicate roles and functions’ after rapid expansion last year – due to shares falling more than 5% in extended trading (CNBC)

Fiserv launches AppMarket
Payments and financial services technology solutions provider Fiserv has launched AppMarket, which gives FIs access to a curated set of fintech solutions that can help them reach new customers, operate more efficiently and be more competitive ( PYMNTS)

Fidelity will soon have a Bitcoin option on its 401(k) plans
Fidelity, the largest retirement plan provider in the United States, has announced plans to offer Bitcoin in 401(k) retirement accounts later this year (TechCrunch)

Challenger bank Starling is now valued at £2.5bn
UK digital bank Starling’s valuation has doubled to more than £2.5bn after the start-up raised £130.5m ‘to build an acquisition war chest’ (PYMNTS)

“Stripe Partner Ecosystem” by Stripe
Stripe has launched the Stripe Partner Ecosystem, a new program to partner with leading companies whose services enable Stripe users to thrive in the internet economy (Finextra)

Crypto Industry’s Fierce Opposition to New York Assembly’s Latest Bill
The New York Assembly has passed a bill to prevent new crypto mining facilities using non-renewable energy sources from setting up shop in the Empire State (CoinDesk)

TD is hiring for its South Florida technology center
TD Bank to hire 200 employees for a new technology hub in South Florida, part of the bank’s commitment to grow its IT team with the creation of 2,000 new positions in 2022 (Finextra)

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