Also:

• 🛂 Europes digital ID

• 💀 Credit cards are doomed

• 🤪 Meme ETF

• 🪦 What happens to your Bitcoins when you die?

• 📈 Growth hacking mortgages

• 🧐 Psychology

• 🪨 Black/Bridge - rock/water/stone

🛂 Digital ID

EU has proposed a unified digital ID system across all member countries. This would allow you to prove your age, address, or identity to a website in a standardized way without handing over more than needed. People with direct knowledge of the plan reveal that this solution would also store payment details and passwords to pay utility bills using a single recognized identity. In theory, this sounds like a helpful idea, but in practice, this is a giant project management and engineering question.

A solution like this could be very convenient for consumers and companies. But the EU has a history of long, slow, bureaucratic efforts that underdeliver. Just look at the promises of PSD2 and what we now have. The EU also might be a bit late to the party, with many countries having their digital IDs implemented for years. On the other hand, Apple is trying to standardize this in the US, launching digital identification this autumn. In the forthcoming update to the Wallet app, you can use your iPhone as digital identification in select US airports.

💀 Credit cards are doomed

• Apple applets have a nice payment flow. You can wonder why we still need physical credit cards when you see how easy it is to pay with this solution.

• Forbes has made a list of the most innovative Fintech companies in 2021. Ten payment companies made the list this year. Link

• We've all heard of Buy now, Pay Later. This week we came over the newest addition: Fly Now, Pay Later Link

• Klarna last week hit a $45.6bn valuation, making them the second-largest fintech in the world. Last week they released a shopping app that enables UK users to pay in three monthly installments for purchases at any online retailer, regardless of whether they're partnered with Klarna or not. Link

🤪 Meme ETF

• Want to invest in the Meme stocks we've covered earlier, like Gamestop or AMC, but you don't have the time to follow r/wallstreetbets and the latest trends? Tuttle Capital Management launched FOMO ETF FOMO last week to capitalize on meme stocks that could lower the risk of investing in a single stock. Link

• Chamath Palihapitiya says that the investment tool lets ordinary people get rich from startups. It may be hype—but hype can be its own economic engine. The Pied Piper of SPACs in The New Yorker. Link

• Last week, we wrote about AMC offering its investors popcorn if they attend a movie. Here are 21 other stock perks from companies. My favorite? Lindt provides a gift box to shareholders who vote during its annual meeting. Link

🪦 What happens to your Bitcoins when you die?

• Cryptocurrency investors are beginning to think about the afterlife of their digital assets — and a flourishing industry awaits them with a lot of secure alternatives for passing on digital assets. Link

• UNICEF has created the UNICEF CryptoFund to invest in startups focused on financial inclusion in emerging markets. The most impressive part of this is that they move the crypto assets to the startups they invest in hours after UNICEF receives a donation. Link

📈 Growth hacking mortgages

Bulder Bank from Sparebanken Vest has so far been the winner of DNBs acquisition of Sbanken. Last week they launched a referral program giving customers 500 NOK when the referral has moved their mortgage to Bulder. Tibber (and Tesla) has successfully been using this for years. This is a smart move to get more growth - and the first time I've seen this done on a mortgage. Link

🧐 Psychology

• Silent meetings? Current research supports the benefits of holding a "silent meeting" as one way of better leveraging the ideas, perspectives, and insights of organizational talent, according to Harvard Business Review Link

• "There aren't many iron laws of money. But here's one, and perhaps the most important: If expectations grow faster than income, you'll never be happy with your money. One of the most important financial skills is getting the goalpost to stop moving. It's also one of the hardest". Link

🪨 Black/Bridge - rock/water/stone

🥺 Please share!

We really appreciate it if you would share with friends and colleagues! Sign up here: nyhetsbrev.stacc.com

Marius Hauken, partner Stacc X