Visa and Plaid call off merger following regulatory challenge January 13, 2021 Visa and Plaid have called off their $5.3bn deal after an antitrust lawsuit threatened to scupper the deal. Visa announced it was buying the fintech this time last year in one of the biggest fintech deals ever. But on Tuesday both parties announced they had agreed to mutually end the agreement after regulatory opposition. In [...]
Fintech Curve closes $95m Series C round as it eyes US expansion January 12, 2021 London-based fintech Curve has secured $95m in its latest fundraising round to fuel its expansion into the US and launch a new credit product. Founded in 2015, the startup allows users to consolidate all their credit and debit cards into one smart card and app. The Series C round was led by IDC Ventures, Fuel [...]
Checkout.com valuation reaches $15bn after latest fundraising round January 12, 2021 London payments firm Checkout.com has tripled its valuation to $15bn following a $450m Series C fundraising round. The round, which makes Checkout the fourth largest fintech globally, was led by New York-based Tiger Global Management, joined by Greenoaks Capital and existing investors including Insight Partners and DST Global. Payments has been one of the leading [...]
Exclusive: ‘We must be brave and move away from the EU’s way of thinking’, says Tech Nation chair January 7, 2021 After what was a difficult year for tech firms, City A.M. sat down with Stephen Kelly, chairman of Tech Nation, the industry body that represents UK startups and runs Britain’s Tech Nation visa scheme for foreign entrepreneurs. Brexit has just taken place, how will this impact London’s startup space? Brexit is the UK’s opportunity to [...]
Data-hungry fintech firms urge FCA to ‘break’ banks this year January 2, 2021 A coalition of London startups is calling on the Financial Conduct Authority to end the dominance of banking institutions over the use of consumer data this year. The firms argue it would increase competition in the savings, credit, mortgages and pensions markets. The Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec), an advocacy group that represent a [...]
Startup Spotlight: The top 50 London tech firms to work for January 2, 2021 From insurtech to fitness and everything in between, recruitment platform Tempo has compiled a list of the best London-based startups to work for. Companies in its “Super Startups” list have been based on the company’s mission, employee reviews and career pages. To be considered for the list the startups must have been launched after 2014, [...]
Uswitch owner RVU picks up Confused.com in effort to broaden reach December 29, 2020 London-based RVU, owner of comparison site Uswitch and financial planning outfit Money.co.uk, has announced a deal to buy Confused.com from Admiral Insurance. RVU will pick up Confused.com as well as the market leaders in insurance comparison in both Spain and France. Read more: Tech jobs boom as UK moves towards light at the end of [...]
To the Moon: The ‘fintel’ going after the TikTok generation December 22, 2020 Almost every startup has at some stage dubbed themselves a disruptor. The Monzo or Revolut of their respective industries. It has become a tired cliche in the startup world but a new London-based startup is laying claim to being not only a disruptor but forging a new industry in itself. To the Moon claims to [...]
Robinhood pays $65m to settle SEC charges December 17, 2020 Stock trading app Robinhood has agreed to pay $65m in charges to settle claims it had misled customers about payments it received for handling their trades. Between 2015 and late 2018, Robinhood made “misleading statements and omissions in customer communications… about its largest revenue source when describing how it made money,” according to the Securities [...]
Gocardless nears $1bn valuation after latest funding round December 17, 2020 London fintech Gocardless is nearing unicorn status after its latest funding round amid a digital payments boom. The Alphabet-backed company announced it had raised $95m in its latest funding round led by the venture capital arm of Bain Capital, valuing the firm at over $970m. “This funding round demonstrates the strength of the business and [...]