SBI-Backed Japan Robo-Adviser Folio Targets Swing to Profit, IPO
Japanese robo-adviser Folio Holdings Co. is looking to go public as the SBI Holdings Inc.-backed startup zeros in on profitability in a market primed for expansion, Chief Executive Officer Shinichiro Kai said in an interview.
Kai told Bloomberg he expects the Tokyo-based firm to become profitable and launch an initial public offering 'in the not-so-distant future.' Japan's robo-adviser market, estimated to be worth around ¥3 trillion ($19.8 billion), has massive room for growth, he added.
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Tapcheck embeds EWA in payroll
This story was originally published on Payments Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Payments Dive newsletter. Earned wage access provider Tapcheck is integrating its EWA software with Workday's human resources services as part of an ongoing effort to expand its business to millions of additional employees. The company announced Friday that it has achieved certified integration status on the Workday Marketplace, which allows companies using Workday's human capital management platform to access solutions for their employees' needs. Such integrations with HR software systems allow for a larger pool of potential new EWA users and also provide increased financial and technical efficiencies for both employers and EWA companies, Tapcheck Chief Executive Ron Gaver said in a May interview at the company's headquarters in Plano, Texas. 'With the flip of a switch, through the software … we want to enable it to millions of employees,' he said of the company's move into HR integrations versus separate one-off employer connections. Earned wage access – also known as on-demand pay – allows workers to tap their earned income before a regularly scheduled payday, generally without costs for employers. These payments typically cover hourly employees, such as those working in restaurants, hotels, and home health care, with EWA giving employers a means to retain and recruit lower-wage workers. Most EWA providers charge a fee to employees to receive money instantly – it's $3 to $5 at Tapcheck – or will offer a free option for slower access that is usually within one or two business days. Workday says its platform is used by around 11,000 organizations globally, including 60% of those listed in the Fortune 500. Tapcheck works with about 4,000 companies including Hilton Worldwide Holdings, McDonald's, Planet Fitness and Taco Bell. Privately held Tapcheck, which raised $25 million in new funds from PeakSpan Capital in April, declined to reveal any financial data. The company is profitable, Gaver said. Tapcheck rolled out a similar integration in April, embedding its EWA tools within payroll software from Viventium, a provider of payroll, human resources and compliance solutions based in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. About 500,000 healthcare workers are covered by Viventium's cloud-based payroll platform, the companies said. Tapcheck will pursue additional payroll integrations, Gaver said. The Workday partnership 'represents a significant advance towards cultivating financially resilient and content employees, which ultimately enhances recruitment, retention, and overall business success,' Gaver said in a press release shared with Payments Dive. Larger EWA competitors, such as DailyPay and Payactiv, also seek to integrate their solution with numerous payroll and HR platforms. San Jose, California-based Payactiv, for example, says it works with seven of the largest HR software companies, including ADP, Oracle and Workday. A spokesperson for New York-based DailyPay, another large EWA provider, said most payroll companies that operate a marketplace will typically have multiple EWA vendors for employers to select among. DailyPay integrates with about 200 payroll systems, he said by email this week. HR marketplace-based flexibility also offers companies a simpler path for switching their EWA provider. Since early 2024, more than half of Tapcheck's new customers have shifted to it from another EWA company, asserted Gaver, who co-founded the company with his wife, Kayling, in Los Angeles six years ago. 'From our perspective, the market is really pretty much open,' Gaver said. 'It's about 80 million hourly employees in the U.S., and maybe 15% of them right now have access to earned wage access. Eventually, it will be something that everyone has. It's going to be kind of a utility that is going to be a plug-in to payroll and also time-attendance systems.' States are gradually beginning to regulate EWA providers, with Arkansas, Maryland and Utah adding to the collection this year. Last year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sought to regulate EWA providers under federal lending laws, a move that fintechs opposed. However, under the Trump administration, the CFPB has been reversing many of its prior policies. In January, the bureau rescinded a 2020 advisory opinion classifying certain EWA products as credit. It has not yet addressed the Biden administration's July 2024 interpretative rule on EWA. This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Tapcheck co-founder Kayling Gaver's name. Recommended Reading Maryland passes EWA law Sign in to access your portfolio
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28 minutes ago
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Influencer Marketing Gains Ground as Global Ad Budgets Tighten
(Bloomberg) -- Ashton Hall's morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall's brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that's fantastic news. Shuttered NY College Has Alumni Fighting Over Its Future Trump's Military Parade Has Washington Bracing for Tanks and Weaponry NYC Renters Brace for Price Hikes After Broker-Fee Ban Do World's Fairs Still Matter? As Part of a $45 Billion Push, ICE Prepares for a Vast Expansion of Detention Space 'We're so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,' Saratoga-owner Primo Brands Corp.'s Chief Executive Officer Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall's morning routine video went viral. 'He really helped put our brand on the map.' Primo Brands, which wasn't affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer co-signs. Handbag-maker Coach, once synonymous with mall discounts, has become a Gen-Z status symbol and saw sales soar thanks to TikTok influencers expanding their collection of purses adorned with little cherry or pretzel charms. With economic turmoil squeezing ad budgets, content creators are seen as better value than other marketing areas. 'While it's true we are seeing brands begin to pull back in marketing expenditure as a whole, the creator economy is surging,' said Kenny Gold, head of social, content and influencer at Deloitte Digital. The global influencer marketing industry is projected to grow 36% between 2024 and 2025 to reach $33 billion, Statista data shows. 'This year will be the first year that advertising revenue on user generated content and platforms actually outpaces the ad revenue on professionally produced content,' said Kate Scott-Dawkins, WPP Media's global president of business intelligence. 'That's a big deal.' Unilever Plc's recently appointed CEO, Fernando Fernandez, said he will hire 20 times more influencers as part of a social-first marketing strategy because consumers are 'suspicious' of corporate branding. The owner of Dove soap and Hellmann's mayonnaise plans to dedicate as much as 50% of its ad budget to social media, up from 30% before. While fashion, beauty and accessories lead the way in employing influencer marketing, the strategy is gaining ground among consumer goods companies amid economic turbulence who are increasingly relying on influencers to position their products as premium, said Ruben Schreurs, CEO of media analytics firm Ebiquity Plc. With the expense of TV advertising, brands are starting to look at maximizing their reach more effectively, according to Alex Burgess, global president of The Goat Agency, which counts Unilever as one of its biggest clients. Globally, brands increased investment in influencer partnerships by 49% in 2024 and content creators topped social media marketing budgets, taking up a quarter of the total annual spending on average, according to Deloitte research. Influencer marketing spending is expected 'to continue to accelerate,' said Scott Morris, chief marketing officer of social media management company Sprout Social Inc. Within the last year, Publicis Groupe SA bought Influential, the largest influencer marketing company in the world by revenue, and BR Media Group, a leader in Latin America that works with 80% of the region's biggest influencers. Publicis' backing of players like Influential is a 'strong indicator' that influencer marketing is no longer a niche, said Oliver Lewis, CEO of The Fifth, an influencer marketing agency recently acquired by digital media company Brave Bison Plc. 'They have to be very acquisitive because if they don't acquire these capabilities across their network, they'll be left behind,' Ebiquity's Schreurs said. Companies often favor smaller, independent, topic-specific influencer agencies that can connect them to creators with a strong reach and a defined audience. Attracting Gen Z The appeal is the direct line to consumers. 'It works because it feels personal, relevant and real,' Sprout Social's Morris said. 'These are qualities that traditional advertising often lacks.' 'People trust people more than they trust brands,' said Rahul Titus, global head of influence at WPP-owned Ogilvy. 'Authenticity sells.' This resonates with Gen Z digital natives in particular, a cohort with $450 billion in global spending power. Micro-influencers – creators with 10,000 to 100,000 followers – 'exert great influence' on the 'the savvy and cynical' Gen Z, Jay Sinha, an associate professor of marketing at Temple University's Fox School of Business, wrote in a paper. As social commerce — where people buy and sell on social media platforms like TikTok Shop — becomes mainstream, brands want to create content with an 'easy onward journey to purchase,' said Jessica Tamsedge, EMEA CEO of Dentsu Group Inc.'s influence division. That flexibility, affordability — they're cheaper than celebrities — and direct impact, compared with the uncertain results of shooting a TV ad or setting up billboards, is appealing. 'Unlike more traditional channels, we're not weighed down by long lead times or heavy production guardrails,' said Nick Rogers, founder of influencer marketing agency The Cast, adding that campaign messaging can be adjusted, influencers recast and creative direction altered very quickly. That immediate feedback loop comes with a key risk: 'When it goes wrong, because it's social, it goes wrong very quickly,' Ogilvy's Titus said. German sportswear maker Adidas AG was forced to publicly cut ties with Kanye West in 2022, highlighting the risk of trusting a public figure with unlimited access to a phone. One way around that may be the emergence of AI-generated influencers, some of which have large followings on Instagram, TikTok or OnlyFans. Meta Platforms Inc. plans to fully automate ad creation with AI, including imagery, video, text and audience targeting, the Wall Street Journal reported. 'It's going to be very interesting to see how much value there is in being human versus an AI when it comes to engaging audiences,' Ebiquity's Schreurs said, adding that influencers' livelihood may be at risk from the shift. When it comes to concerns over brand safety, clients could look more favorably on an AI-generated influencer where everything can be controlled and there are no skeletons in the closet, WPP Media's Scott-Dawkins said. For now, the growth runway remains clear for influencer marketing. 'What used to be seen as a bolt-on is now right at the center,' The Fifth's Lewis said. American Mid: Hampton Inn's Good-Enough Formula for World Domination The Spying Scandal Rocking the World of HR Software New Grads Join Worst Entry-Level Job Market in Years As Companies Abandon Climate Pledges, Is There a Silver Lining? US Tariffs Threaten to Derail Vietnam's Historic Industrial Boom ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
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US Steel Sale to Nippon Steel Poised to Close After Trump Deal
(Bloomberg) -- Nippon Steel Corp. won conditional US approval for its $14.1 billion purchase of United States Steel Corp., capping a lengthy saga in a tie-up that will create one of the world's largest steel companies. Shuttered NY College Has Alumni Fighting Over Its Future Trump's Military Parade Has Washington Bracing for Tanks and Weaponry NYC Renters Brace for Price Hikes After Broker-Fee Ban Do World's Fairs Still Matter? As Part of a $45 Billion Push, ICE Prepares for a Vast Expansion of Detention Space In a release Friday, the companies said they've committed to a national security agreement proposed by the Trump administration, which earlier cleared the deal subject to those terms. As part of the $55-per-share deal, the Japanese company will invest an additional $11 billion by 2028, including an initial commitment in a greenfield project that would be completed after 2028. Nippon had previously raised its pledged additional investment in an effort to win President Donald Trump's approval. Nippon Steel will also spend an extra $3 billion after 2028 for a new steel mill, according to people familiar with the matter. That would push the total additional investment — on top of the purchase price — to $14 billion. Earlier Friday, Trump formally opened the door to approving the sale of US Steel by submitting the agreement to the companies and amending former President Joe Biden's move to block the agreement in an executive order. The president's action cleared the sale so long as the companies comply with the government's terms. 'President Trump promised to protect American Steel and American Jobs — and he has delivered on that promise,' White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a written statement. 'Today's executive order ensures US Steel will remain in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and be safeguarded as a critical element of America's national and economic security.' Nippon Steel and US Steel in the release said they had received regulatory approvals and that 'the partnership is expected to be finalized promptly.' The deal is expected to close by June 18, the merger agreement deadline, Japan's Nikkei reported on Saturday, without saying where it got the information. Trump earlier this week said the US would receive a so-called golden share in the post-transaction company, though it's not clear what that would entail. The companies confirmed that the US would get a golden share but didn't elaborate. The terms of the security agreement include significant and unprecedented US control measures, as well as certain control over some board seats and requirements that some leadership roles go to American citizens, according to a person familiar with the pact, speaking on condition of anonymity. The golden share does not include an equity stake in the company, the person said. Earlier: Nippon Steel Plans $6 Billion Investment in Its Japanese Mills 'The Japanese government believes that this investment will strengthen the ability of the Japanese and US steel industries to generate new innovation and lead to the strengthening of the close partnership between Japan and the US,' Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Yoji Muto, said in a written statement. 'We welcome the decision of the US government.' Trump and Biden as well as former Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned against the deal, before the former president blocked it in January. Trump has since reversed his position, insisting that the agreement would preserve steel jobs in the US. The text of the security agreement hasn't been released. Trump and others have previously announced other elements of the deal, including bonuses to steelworkers, a requirement to keep existing blast furnaces running for a decade, and government veto power to retain control over the board of the US Steel subsidiary. Trump has also hailed the accord as vindication of his trade policies, which have seen the administration levy tariffs in a bid to pressure companies to shift more manufacturing to the US. Japan has been engaging in negotiations with the US over trade in a bid to avoid higher levies Trump has threatened. Trump's decision to champion Nippon Steel's bid offers to provide fresh momentum for those talks. Trump held a rally in Pennsylvania two weeks ago, at US Steel's iconic Mon Valley facility, celebrating the deal with a crowd of steelworkers, even though it had not yet been finalized. Earlier: US, Mexico Near Deal to Cut Steel Duties and Cap Imports Trump also used that event to announce he was doubling his tariffs on steel and aluminum, raising them to 50% from 25%. Since that rally, government officials, company executives and deal advisers worked to hammer out the finer details and get the final signatures. The deal creates a combined company that will be the world's second-largest steelmaker. It will become a formidable domestic competitor to Nucor Corp., which for a generation has dominated the American steel industry. The acquisition also clears the way for enhanced steelmaking in areas the US has lagged in recent years, including the type of steel critical to bolster ailing electric grids across the country. The Japanese steelmaker's takeover became a political lightning rod after the leadership of the United Steelworkers – based, like US Steel itself, in Pittsburgh – staunchly opposed the tie-up. Biden sided with them, as did Trump. The deal has taken a winding path with extensions, a Biden block, a legal fight, and then Trump's decision to reexamine it before ultimately clearing it. Nippon Steel and US Steel have steadily tried to address worries, with Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori making repeated visits to the US to clinch the deal. Divisions within the union were laid bare through the process, with local union leaders expressing support for the deal and breaking with their national leadership. Trump's reversal was a few months in the making. In February, he surprised the parties by blessing some kind of a minority stake — an announcement they hadn't been privy to and didn't understand. The deal, then and now, was built on Nippon Steel buying US Steel entirely. The question was mitigation measures. The president said he supported a 'planned partnership' between the companies on May 23, without providing details of an announcement that appeared to bless the original deal with additional mitigation measures. --With assistance from Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Meghashyam Mali and Yoshiaki Nohara. (Updates with potential closing timeframe in eighth paragraph.) American Mid: Hampton Inn's Good-Enough Formula for World Domination The Spying Scandal Rocking the World of HR Software New Grads Join Worst Entry-Level Job Market in Years As Companies Abandon Climate Pledges, Is There a Silver Lining? US Tariffs Threaten to Derail Vietnam's Historic Industrial Boom ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
