We speak to the head of Zopa about the FCA’s credit clampdown and how to survive another financial crisis September 13, 2018 In the grand scheme of financial services, the peer-to-peer lending industry is young. With the sector now in its early teens, it’s this immaturity that often seems to spark questions about resilience, particularly how peer-to-peer companies would cope during another economic downturn. Those in defence of the industry tend to use Zopa as an example: a [...]
Fraud detection firm Ravelin announces £8m Series B funding September 11, 2018 London-based fraud and risk prediction company Ravelin has announced an £8m Series B financing round to fund expansion in the U.S. European private equity firm Blackfin Capital Partners led the round with existing backers Amadeus Capital Partners, Passion Capital and Playfair Capital retaining their stakes. Read more: Challenger banking app Monese lands $60m funding round Ravelin, which has [...]
Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos among backers of £4.5m Wagestream start-up fund September 9, 2018 The founders of Amazon and Microsoft have backed a London start-up that allows workers to access their wages before payday. "Get-paid-as-you-go" platform Wagestream has received £4.5m of funding from supporters including technology billionaires Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates. Read more: Wonga goes under: Controversial payday lender placed into administration Wagestream, which aims to end the "payday poverty cycle", allows [...]
Acorn OakNorth rises to $2.3bn valuation as it closes fresh $100m fundraise September 6, 2018 London fintech Acorn Oaknorth has been valued at $2.3bn (£1.8bn) after it secured $100m from two Singaporean state-backed funds EDBI and GIC, as well as NIBC Bank, Clermont Group, and Coltrane Asset Management. The deal represented a total 4.3 per cent holding in the group. The fresh capital, announced yesterday, will be used to power growth [...]
Challenger banking app Monese lands $60m series B from Kinnevik and Augmentum Fintech September 6, 2018 UK and European digital banking app Monese has scored a $60m (£46.4m) series B fundraising round, led by venture capital firm Kinnevik. London-based fintech investment vehicle Augmentum Fintech also got on board to contribute £5.3m, alongside new investors Paypal and Avios. Existing investors such as Investec's INVC Fund also participated. Powered by an e-money licence, Monese has [...]
Meet the startups in the Treasury-backed Tech Nation fintech accelerator September 6, 2018 Delivered as part of the Treasury's fintech strategy, Tech Nation has pegged these 20 UK startups as the ones to watch. The startups selected come from across the financial services sector, representing businesses in areas such as payment solutions, financial inclusion, Open Banking innovation, SME lending and artificial intelligence. [infographic id="987"] New figures released today [...]
Funding Circle confirms IPO that could value it at £2bn September 3, 2018 Small business loans platform Funding Circle this morning confirmed its intention to IPO in a move that could value it at £2bn. The firm plans to float 25 per cent of its shares to generate £300m on the London Stock Exchange, with its debut being underpinned by Danish billionaire Anders Povlsen, who has committed to [...]
HSBC goes on hiring spree for new digital business banking initiative September 2, 2018 HSBC has hired more than 100 new staff to work inside its Aldwych offices on Project Iceberg, an internal digital initiative to revamp its small business banking effort and to counteract competition coming in from Shoreditch’s fintech stars. A source familiar with the matter told City A.M. the bank has chosen to innovate on its [...]
Africa needs fintech – but fintech needs Africa more August 30, 2018 What a difference a couple of decades make. At the turn of the century, Tony Blair remarked that “the state of Africa is a scar on the conscience of the world”. This week, on her first official visit to the continent, Theresa May embraced a new vision of optimism and hope. Read more: Theresa May [...]
UBS closes robo-advisor Smartwealth after less than two years August 29, 2018 Swiss banking giant UBS has closed its robo-advice service Smartwealth less than two years after its UK launch. The platform, which was established in November 2016, had satisfactory commercial progress, UBS said in a statement, but was shut down after the "near-term potential" was judged to be limited. Customers were told that money will continue to [...]