Tesco investigates technical issues affecting Monzo card payments November 1, 2019 Supermarket giant Tesco is investigating a technical issue affecting customers with Monzo debit cards after cardholders complained they were being charged twice for transactions. Monzo customers have complained on Twitter about issues using their cards in Tesco, prompting the supermarket chain to put up signs at some of its stores saying it could not accept [...]
City startup Freetrade raises $15m from Revolut backer Draper Esprit October 31, 2019 Zero-commission stock trading startup Freetrade has today revealed the close of its $15m series A funding round, bringing on board its first venture capital investor. London-listed fund Draper Esprit led the round, injecting $7.5m into the company. It has previously backed the likes of fellow British fintech starlets Transferwise and Revolut, as well as Graze, [...]
HSBC-backed fintech Bud to re-focus product stream after restructuring October 31, 2019 A fintech startup backed by HSBC is to open up its software to businesses outside of banking, as part of a restructuring of the business that included a swathe of lay-offs. Bud, which passes financial data made available through Open Banking legislation to banks in order to help them innovate, will now make its platform [...]
Technical issue with Revolut app leaves customers unable to sign in October 30, 2019 Some Revolut customers have been left unable to sign in to the banking app due to a technical issue. Customers of the fintech giant took to Twitter to report seeing an error message when they tried to log in to its app, with some complaining of long waits to speak to customer service agents. Read [...]
Starling Bank launches euro debit card in challenge to Revolut October 30, 2019 Digital challenger Starling Bank has today launched a business euro account and a dual-currency debit card as it steps up preparations to expand into Ireland, in a challenge to fintech giant Revolut. Customers with Starling Bank debit cards will now have the option to spend directly in pounds or euros using a single card. Its [...]
Emerging markets need more say on digital currencies like Libra, says Chinese official October 28, 2019 Governments in emerging markets should be given a greater say in the regulation of digital currencies such as Facebook Libra that could facilitate illegal capital flows and disrupt foreign exchange management, said a senior Chinese official. China has been moving to embrace financial technologies such as blockchain, and is preparing to launch its own digital [...]
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 [...]