KEY POINTS
  • For customers, fintech promised the best of both worlds: The innovation, ease of use and fun of the newest apps combined with the safety of government-backed accounts held at real banks.
  • The collapse of middleman Synapse has revealed fintech’s promise of safety as a mirage. More than 100,000 Americans with $265 million in deposits have been locked out of their accounts.
  • The implications of this disaster may be far-reaching. The most popular banking apps in the country, including Block’s Cash App, PayPal and Chime, partner with banks instead of owning them.
  • CNBC reached out to fintech customers whose lives have been upended by the Synapse debacle. They all believed their money was protected by an FDIC safety net.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/02/synapse-fintech-fdic-false-promise.html