Banking challenger Monese tops 1m customers May 3, 2019 British banking startup Monese has surpassed the 1m customer milestone, as user growth tripled in the last year alone. The banking app, which counts Monzo, Revolut and Starling Bank among its rivals, said over 3,000 people are now joining Monese every day across its dual UK and European current accounts. Read more: Fintech startup Monese crashes [...]
London startup Checkout.com raises $230m in Europe’s largest ever fintech series A May 2, 2019 London-based fintech firm Checkout.com has raised $230m (£176.6m) from investors Insight Partners and DST Global, marking the largest European early-stage fintech raise to date. It is also the largest series A fintech fundraise globally of all time. Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, Blossom Capital, Endeavor Catalyst and other strategic investors also participated in the round. With [...]
AI-powered fintech chatbot Plum closes $4.5m funding round May 2, 2019 Money management chatbot Plum has raised a fresh $4.5m (£3.45m) in funding to bring it to a total raise of $6.3m, it confirmed today. Read more: Former HSBC trader's fintech startup raises £3.8m from the crowd VC outfit Venture Friends, along with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), led the funding round for [...]
Former HSBC trader’s fintech startup raises £3.8m from the crowd May 1, 2019 Dozens, a challenger banking startup founded by a former trader from HSBC, closed a crowdfunding round of more than £3.8m on Seedrs yesterday. The firm had initially set a target of £3.5m, but exceeded that amount with more than 2,150 investors in 42 countries. Read more: Philip Hammond says UK fintech sector will attract talent [...]
Chancellor Philip Hammond promises UK fintech sector will attract global talent after Brexit April 30, 2019 The chancellor Philip Hammond has reassured business leaders that the UK’s fintech sector will still have access to talent from across the world after Brexit. Hammond called on the UK to strengthen its dominance of the European fintech industry and warned against complacency. Read more: UK fintech must have ambitions to challenge China, LSE boss [...]
Wealth management apps could ‘eclipse’ traditional channels, EY finds April 30, 2019 Digital wealth management apps could “eclipse” traditional channels as clients move towards new technology faster than previously anticipated, new research shows. The popularity of mobile apps among wealth management clients has increased faster than predicted, with 41 per cent of clients saying they would prefer to use a mobile app over websites, face-to-face interaction and [...]
Londoners are bolstering the latest fintech generation April 30, 2019 Have you ever thought about the role of Londoners in guaranteeing the UK as the fintech capital of the world? Our capital is currently hosting UK Fintech Week, an opportunity to showcase and celebrate the businesses transforming our best export: financial services. On Crowdcube, the crowdfunding platform I work for, there are now over 67,000 [...]
Government moves to take UK fintech startups global April 29, 2019 The UK’s fintech startups are set to get a boost from the government towards expansion across borders, international trade secretary Liam Fox announced yesterday. Building on the so-called fintech bridge agreements signed by the UK and other nations in recent years, a cohort of startups have been selected for two pilot programmes that will provide [...]
UK fintech sector must not rest on its laurels and should strive to challenge China, LSE boss says April 29, 2019 The UK must not “sit on its laurels” and should have ambitions to challenge China, the London Stock Exchange chief executive told a global fintech summit this afternoon. Nikhil Rathi championed the City as a top fintech hub globally but said the UK environment needed to improve to develop skills and people and encourage innovation. [...]
Top banks inject $9m into London fintech startup Mosaic Smart Data April 29, 2019 The venture capital arm of Commerzbank and London investor Octopus Ventures have co-led a $9m (£7m) funding round into fintech startup Mosaic Smart Data. Existing backer and client JP Morgan also participated in the round, adding to its minority stake in the startup. The bank signed a multi-year deal to use Mosaic’s technology – which [...]