Here are the most read news stories from our daily newsletter today:

• A fintech’s novel bank charter application draws industry’s ire – American Banker
• Helping big banks out-Affirm Affirm and out-Chime Chime gives Amount a $681 million valuation – TechCrunch
• London-based fintech Updraft scoops £16m to help people get rid of their credit cards – AltFi
• Visa Partners With Ethereum Digital-Dollar Startup That Raised $271 Million – Forbes
• Why B2B Fintechs are Descending on Latin America – Crowdfund Insider
• Will Smith, Justin Timberlake among investors in digital bank Step – American Banker
• Lend to those with low credit scores to lift downtrodden neighborhoods – American Banker
• Personal finance app Digit moves into investing and retirement – FinLedger
• Digital Asset Market Participants’ Perception of DeFi Tokens Shifts from Speculation to Identifying Long-Term Investments: Report – Crowdfund Insider
• Why Community Financial Institutions Must Tap Into Platforms’ Power – The Financial Brand