When Synapse -- a financial technology firm that took care of the nuts and bolts of banking for fintech apps and their users -- collapsed almost a year ago, left behind was a tangled mess of records. No one was sure who owed what to whom. (1/5)

This week is my first with @business where I'll be covering fintech, payments and crypto! Reach me at emason58@bloomberg.net or on Signal: emason.93

Scoop: billionaire Steve Cohen's firm Point72 Ventures has laid off its fintech investment team as part of a shift in strategy away from fintech and crypto to (surprise!) AI. Multiple partners are expected to leave. By @emilymason00 and me for @forbes 👀 https://t.co/uOoTUqsYy3

NEW: We profiled Chime CEO Chris Britt. He opened up about his own history growing up in a low-income home, Chime’s active users (7M) and its new personal loans. Plus exclusive info on its financials, including revenue, marketing spend and '23 net loss: https://t.co/uxrMU0Um5p

FINTECH 50 DEADLINE REMINDER: The deadline to apply is EOD today! (We're doing the 2024 list earlier in the year than usual.) We set out to identify the most innovative private fintech companies, ranging from early to late-stage startups. Details here:

Fintech 50 news: We're accepting applications for our next Fintech 50, where we highlight the most promising startups reinventing finance through tech. We're doing the 2024 list earlier than usual--the deadline to apply is 12/6/23. Application details:

The launch of the Fed’s instant payment FedNow system has raised the value of access to master accounts–which Kraken Bank, Custodia Bank and others haven’t been granted: by @emilymason00

Scoop: Sequoia has let go of one third of its talent team following the departure of its leader, 2 sources told @Forbes. The firm confirmed to @kenrickcai and me it let go of 7 people on Friday as part of a broader restructuring for "non-peak" moments.

FedNow's launch this morning makes universal access to real-time payments more likely as smaller financial institutions come online. Find out what this could mean for consumers in my latest for @Forbes: https://t.co/lByofCYlZz

Exos Financial was meant to be a big return to Wall Street for Brady Dougan, the ex-CEO of Credit Suisse. But a few years in, the company has already missed payroll and is scrambling to find its way in difficult markets. My latest for @Forbes https://t.co/uWbQm16QoY

Coinbase Hit With SEC Suit That Identifies $37 Billion Of Crypto Tokens As Securities: by @emilymason00

1/ Our eighth annual Fintech 50 list is out! It was a months-long project done by a fantastic team of 10 reporters and editors. We evaluated hundreds of companies, analyzing everything from product originality and growth to leadership team diversity: https://t.co/t7vIlBwXkS

In just the month of May, several U.S. fintech startups have either shut down, filed for bankruptcy or been acquired. Three of them were on the list of 25 struggling fintech startups we published in February: https://t.co/rrgb3Nc9J3.

Rising interest rates and a trio of regional bank failures have turbocharged the movement of cash into higher yielding alternatives–particularly money market mutual funds. Here’s how to bump up your own yield. My latest: https://t.co/qkMWR8N9Dl

Apple’s new savings account took in nearly $1 billion in deposits in its first four days: https://t.co/L5BMOrShaV. Great scoop by @emilymason00.

Apple’s savings account brought in as much as $990 million in deposits over its first four days, according to two sources familiar with the matter. On launch day alone, the savings account drew nearly $400 million deposits. My latest for @Forbes: https://t.co/7sjfeTfy6Z

Our book "WONDER BOY: Tony Hsieh, Zappos, and the Myth of Happiness in Silicon Valley" is out. More than 150 people helped us piece together the life of a true visionary, whose story is as tragic as it is remarkable — and we are grateful to them today. https://t.co/JLKSqIeM8v

Apple is a neobank like Chime, Revolut and Monzo – except its brand strength is unparalleled with 2 billion iPhones globally. “It's partnerships like these that could basically make banking become invisible,” Chris Nichols of SouthState Bank says. https://t.co/7B0ka7tbQV

Twitter committed about $20M to back Black, Latinx and women VC fund managers after the murder of George Floyd. Under Elon Musk, it's now trying to quietly sell those stakes -- while not wiring the leftover millions it promised. My story in @forbes:

If you've seen the preponderance of Liquid Death cans at Live Nation concert venues and/or corporate conferences, you're gonna wanna read @chloesorvino's terrific dive into the company and the questions whirling around its future: https://t.co/Rs7TSS5Gyj