Softbank ramps up investment in finance firm Greensill as it swoops on payday lending October 28, 2019 Softbank has injected a further $655m (£511m) into Greensill as the online finance firm announced a fresh acquisition that could kill off payday lenders. Greensill, which was set up by former Morgan Stanley banker Lex Grensill, has acquired Freeup, a London tech startup designed to offer employees early payment of their salaries. Read more: Softbank [...]
Tory donor acquires stake in former Virgin Money chief’s fintech startup Snoop October 25, 2019 A Conservative Party donor has acquired a stake in the technology business of former Virgin Money chief executive Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia. Lord Brownlow’s investment vehicle, Havisham assets, has bought a £5m share in Snoop according to Sky News, alongside Salesforce Ventures, which Jayne-Anne recently joined as UK and Ireland chief. Read more: Self-driving startup Fiveai [...]
Revolut opens for business in Singapore October 24, 2019 Banking app Revolut has today launched its services in Singapore, marking the British fintech giant’s fourth international foray. The scaleup, which has more than 7m users across the UK, Europe and Australia, will provide customers in Singapore with access to its banking app and debit card. Features include free spending overseas in more than 150 [...]
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, [...]