Dutch fintech Adyen sees core profit jump 79 per cent August 22, 2019 Adyen, the Dutch fintech company that processes payments for companies including Facebook and Netflix, has reported a jump in first-half core profit, helped by an increased volume of transactions. The figures Adyen said its core earnings (EBITDA) for the first half of the year were up 79 per cent to €125.8m (£115m), up from €70.3m [...]
Whatsapp in talks to launch mobile payments service in Indonesia August 20, 2019 Whatsapp is said to be in discussions with several digital payments firms in Indonesia over plans to offer mobile transactions over its platform. If a deal were reached, it would make Indonesia only the second country worldwide where Whatsapp offers the service. Read more: NSO denies Whatsapp spyware can hack data The firm is currently [...]
Travelex-owner Finablr profit rise bolsters shares above float levels August 20, 2019 Travelex-owner Finablr enjoyed a nearly 10 per cent rise in half-year profits, in its second financial report since floating on the London stock exchange earlier this year. Shares in the United Arab Emirates-based payment solutions firm jumped as much as nine per cent this morning, above its original initial public offering price of 175p in [...]
Octopus buys wealth management fintech Seccl for £10m August 15, 2019 Financial services and energy firm Octopus has agreed to purchase Seccl, a wealth management technology startup, as it seeks to move into the investment platform technology market. Octopus will pay £10m for Seccl, a Bath-based firm that helps businesses build investment platforms using flexible software designed to reduce the administrative and cost burden of the [...]
Just Eat backer leads $11m raise for City fintech August 15, 2019 Prolific tech investor Index Ventures has led an $11m (£9.2m) series A round for London fintech firm Flatfair. Other participating investors included Onefinestay founder Greg Marsh, former Savills boss Jeremy Helsby, Transferwise co-founder Taavet Hinrikus, Revolt Ventures and Adevinta. Index has previously backed the likes of Facebook, Skype and Just Eat, among others. Flatfair allows [...]
Fintech giant Robinhood to launch commission-free stock trading service in UK August 8, 2019 Commission-free stock trading giant Robinhood is bringing its fintech platform to the UK after receiving the go-ahead from the UK’s financial regulator, it said today. The US startup, which is valued in the billions of dollars, will have to contend with rivals Revolut, Freetrade and Etoro in the UK space after the Financial Conduct Authority [...]
Credit providers must learn to embrace new technology August 8, 2019 Personal finance has a legacy problem. Until now, those who weren’t familiar with its inner workings have never truly understood financial products and services. A combination of technical jargon and a lack of clarity concerning the impact that certain decisions might have on a person’s credit rating has often left consumers very confused about exactly [...]
Klarna becomes Europe’s most valuable fintech in $460m raise August 6, 2019 Online payments giant Klarna has scooped up another $460m in an equity funding round led by Dragoneer, which values the fintech firm at $5.5bn. Other investors included Commonwealth Bank of Australia, HMI Capital, Starling Bank investor Merian Chrysalis, Forsta AP-Fonden, IPGL, Institutional Venture Partners and several funds managed by Blackrock. Swedish-born Klarna said it will [...]
Former Virgin Money boss snubs Bank of England for top Salesforce job August 6, 2019 Former Virgin Money chief executive Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia has shunned a prospective job at the Bank of England to instead head up the British business of software giant Salesforce. The US tech firm, which is planning to inject $2.5bn (£2.05bn) into its UK business in the next five years, said Gadhia would begin the role [...]
Privacy regulators ‘concerned’ by Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency August 5, 2019 The UK information commissioner has joined global regulators in worries over Facebook’s plans to launch its own cryptocurrency. Elizabeth Denham said she was “concerned” over the lack of detail on how Facebook and its partners will handle personal information. Read more: Facebook’s libra cryptocurrency ‘poses global currency threat’ The social network’s role is considered particularly [...]