*By Tanaya Macheel*
For startups like Betterment, the latest fintech company to bundle banking and investing, high-interest savings accounts have proven to be a successful customer acquisition play as they look to expand beyond their initial single-product offering.
The online wealth advisor has launched a savings account with a splashy 2.69 percent annual percentage yield, the highest in the market to date. The average APY at the top four U.S. banks ranges from 0.01 percent to 0.06 percent.
Betterment CEO Jon Stein says it's more than a promotion.
"Unlike a bank account where the bank sets a maybe arbitrary rate, where it can make the most money off of its customers and then lend that money out, we're acting as our customers' advisor," he told Cheddar in an interview Tuesday. "We're going out and finding banks in the market that can pay the highest rates on FDIC-insured deposits and bringing those rates to our customers."
It's similar to the company's existing value proposition with ETFs, or exchange-traded funds, he said.
"If we find a better one we go and change it and get a better ETF for you. For the first time we're bringing that kind of advisory relationship to the savings world."
The company also opened the waitlist for a new fee-free FDIC-insured checking account that will come with a debit card. While customers may be charged fees by the ATM provider itself, Stein said Betterment will reimburse them all, including ATM fees in foreign countries.
As with any bank institution, Betterment will make money on interchange fees, which banks charge merchants when customers use their cards to make purchases.
Betterment joins companies like Wealthfront, Stash, and Acorns, all of which have added cash management capabilities to their investing offerings. Stash and Acorns also offer debit cards and a subscription-based model.
Stein said that the launch of the two accounts comes as a response to feedback of existing customers, but that it wouldn't be a successful launch if it didn't draw in new or new types of customers.
Ultimately, when every successful fintech brand has rebundled into a one-stop-shop for financial services, the differentiation will be on customer segment.
"They'll be optimized very differently because the customers have different economic realities and abilities," Betterment chief technology officer Mike Reust told Cheddar by phone. "You might not just see these giants that try to service everyone in the world with a giant product shelf. You'll see different target customers result in different-looking bundled financial services."
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
At the core of the ongoing government shutdown is a fight over the decision to end subsidies that let some 12 million Americans get health coverage.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
