What can AI and big data do for finance? October 23, 2019 | City Talk Larry Cao, CFA, is the author of AI Pioneers in Investment Management from CFA Institute. AlphaGo brought artificial intelligence (AI) out of computer labs and into the living room. From October 2015, when the AlphaGo AI first beat a professional human competitor, to January 2018, several months after it defeated Ke Jie, the top-ranked player in the [...]
Revolut reveals Mastercard tie-up for US debit card launch October 22, 2019 Fintech giant Revolut has today revealed a tie-up with Mastercard ahead of its imminent US launch, its second major partnership in a month. Revolut said its Mastercard-supported debit cards will be available Stateside before the end of this year, following a long-awaited launch that was first promised to arrive in early 2018. The two will [...]
Stop taking Britain’s glittering fintech status for granted October 22, 2019 The preaviling narrative in the UK is that the Europeans were deeply disappointed by the 2016 Brexit referendum result, and have been imploring Britain to think again. And, indeed, some have. But, just like British Leave voters in 2016, many Europeans regard Brexit as a unique opportunity for their own countries. Over recent months, I [...]
Fintech Ebury expands international reach with acquisition of Frontierpay October 21, 2019 Ebury has acquired international payroll payments provider Frontierpay as the London-based fintech seeks to expand internationally. Ebury, one of Europe’s largest fintech firms, offers foreign exchange services and trade finance to small and medium sized businesses designed to make it easier for businesses to trade internationally. Read more: London overtakes New York to steal global [...]
DEBATE: Is the G7 warning the end for Facebook’s libra? October 16, 2019 Now that the G7 has issued a warning against the cryptocurrency, is this it for Facebook’s libra? YES, says Ana Bencic, president of Nexthash. Facebook’s libra is the most high-profile example of a centralised cryptocurrency and is a living example of how it will be perhaps the last one to exist. The G7’s warning to [...]
Delving inside FinTech innovator Prepaid Financial Services October 15, 2019 | Sponsored “Our core strength is achieving consistent profitability,” Valerie Moran, Head of Operations & Client Relations. It’s late on a Wednesday night in the City. PFS’ owners have reached the end of a selfie queue at a private bank after Valerie Moran was invited to deliver a keynote speech on a hot topic – Diversity and [...]
Exodus reduces Libra members to 21 companies October 14, 2019 The final membership roster of Facebook’s controversial cryptocurrency project Libra has been revealed, having taken a significant hit after several major players abandoned ship. The Libra Association said 21 companies had signed the charter, committing to pay a $10m (£7.9m) founders’ fee and introduce a Libra incentive scheme, following a council meeting in Geneva. Uber, [...]
From Bloom & Wild to Moneybox, we meet the man who co-founded both October 14, 2019 What do a flower shop and an investment app have in common? More than you might think, says the co-founder of two flourishing British businesses, Moneybox and Bloom & Wild. The latter was featured in City A.M. in 2017 and remains one of the fastest growing tech companies in the country, according to Deloitte. “I [...]
UK financial services firms leading the way on automation October 14, 2019 Financial services firms in the UK are integrating robo-advisers into their ranks faster than their global competitors in a bid to harness the technology to retain customers – or poach new ones, new research has found. While 37 per cent of UK financial services firms surveyed have implemented robotic processing automation (RPA) – a technology [...]
Revolut in bid to raise £1.2bn and become Europe’s most valuable fintech firm October 12, 2019 Fintech firm Revolut is seeking to raise £1.2bn from its investors in the coming months. The British-Based payment firm has hired investment bank JP Morgan to arrange a £395m equity raise and issuance of a £790m convertible loan, according to Sky News. Read more: Martin Gilbert to step down from Stand Life and join Revolut [...]