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US regulators aim for greater legal clarity surrounding cryptocurrency
US banking regulators have shared their cryptocurrency priorities for 2022, including more clarity on the legality of digital assets.
Mobile-first bank Simple is shutting down
One of the first-ever mobile-first banks is shutting down.
It doesn’t matter if China hacked Equifax
On Monday the FBI and AG Barr announced "an indictment last week charging four members of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) with hacking into the computer systems of the credit reporting agency Equifax and stealing Americans' personal data and Equifax's valuable trade secrets." China's military refutes the charges.
What to keep in mind before switching to a mobile-first bank
The day I got my first-ever paycheck, I scrawled my signature on the back, went to the bank, dropped it off with a kindly teller and left with a deposit slip and a smile on my face. A few years after that, a Canadian financial titan bought my bank and started managing it differently. That made the decision to embrace an upstart, mobile-first bank -- Simple, in this case -- that much easier. I can't pretend that the idea of trusting my money to a startup wasn't a little worrisome, but the appeal of novel features and Silicon Valley speed quickly won me over and I haven't looked back. You might enjoy making the switch too, but before you pull the trigger, here are a few questions to ask yourself.
FBI looks into Chinese hack targeting federal insurance
The US' Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation hasn't had an easy time of things in recent years: it's been the subject of numerous hacks in recent years, starting in 2010. And now, the FBI wants answers. Reuters sources understand that the law enforcement agency is investigating how the intruders got in, and that the FDIC believes the Chinese military sponsored the attacks. While the full details of the initial hack aren't available, it took a while to recover. The FDIC took until "at least" 2012 to make sure that its systems were clean, according to an internal probe.
Your Google Wallet funds are now insured
The money in your bank account is typically covered by federal insurance, but your internet payment services typically aren't. If PayPal or Venmo went belly-up, you'd probably lose your existing balance. That won't be a problem if you're using Google Wallet, though. Google is now holding your Wallet funds in banks with FDIC insurance, so your digital credit is now that much safer. This isn't to say that rivals leave you completely vulnerable -- PayPal has fraud protection, for instance. However, the Wallet move means that you won't have to go to court to get your cash back if Google goes bankrupt, no matter how unlikely that is.
