Revolut’s Metal card offers customers cryptocurrency cashback August 22, 2018 Fintech darling Revolut today offered customers cashback in the form of cryptocurrency if they sign up to its new Metal account tier, as it aims to generate more revenue from its 2.5m customers. Those who adopt the steel card can get up to one per cent cashback in either fiat or digital currency on transactions made [...]
Halal digital investment platform gets FCO approval August 21, 2018 The UK's first digital Halal investment platform has been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority. New York-based Wahed will invest in a global portfolio of ethically responsible stocks, Islamic bonds and gold, which will be assessed by a full time ethical review board. The board will screen against funds related to excess debt, tobacco, alcohol, firearms, gambling, adult [...]
Financial Conduct Authority launches ‘global fintech sandbox’ August 7, 2018 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has joined financial regulators from around the world to create a new global network to boost fintech innovation. The Global Finance Innovation Network (GFIN) will aim to provide a more efficient method for innovative fintech firms to interact with regulators. The City watchdog has launched a consultation on the main [...]
London fintech serves up UK-wide partnership with sushi chain Itsu August 7, 2018 London-based fintech firm Flux will roll out a UK-wide deal with sushi chain Itsu that could see users receive nutritional information sent straight to their phones. Starting today, users who have opted in with Flux's banking partners will receive an itemised digital receipt inside their banking app when they pay with their card at any [...]
Going for gold: London fintech Glint is heading to the US and Japan, and will be raising £15m to do it July 12, 2018 Glint, a London startup that lets you spend and save in physical gold, is looking to raise a £15m Series A to help bolster its target of launching in the US and Japan by the end of the year. First launched in the UK in November last year, Glint offers its users a pre-paid Mastercard [...]
Mastercard is in talks with UK banks to take biometric technology to the forefront of payments security July 8, 2018 Mastercard is exploring the possibility of trialling its fingerprint-scanning cards in the UK, as the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) rears its head on financial fraud. Currently under trial in South Africa, Mastercard's biometric card combines chip technology with a fingerprint scanner on the card's top right corner to verify the cardholder's identity when making [...]
Peer-to-Peer lender Zopa back in the black July 2, 2018 Peer-to-peer lender Zopa is back in the black as the firm's profit after tax for 2017 hit £1.5m. The financial firm, which matches borrowers with people looking to invest, reported a revenue increase of 40 per cent to £46.5m in its annual report for last year. The amount of money paid out by the lender [...]
Monzo losses deepen in 2018, as operational costs increase faster than growth July 2, 2018 Digital challenger bank Monzo has seen its losses increase fourfold over the last year, logging pre-tax losses of £33.1m in the year ending February 2018. Up from just £7.9m the year before, Monzo said this was the result of its operating costs ballooning from £8m to £34.9m as it invested heavily into becoming "a fully [...]
City veteran Michael Spencer invests millions into a biometric fintech startup June 29, 2018 Founder of NEX Group and serial entrepreneur Michael Spencer has led a $16.5m series B fundraising round into a biometric fintech startup called Veridium. A leader in user authentication through biometric technology like fingerprint and face scanning, Veridium's round was accompanied by additional investment from Citrix Systems and financial services investor Michael Powell. "In today’s [...]
Trading places: Monzo co-founder takes a back seat to make way for a new CTO as international expansion plans get put on the backburner June 28, 2018 Monzo co-founder and soon-to-be former chief technology officer Jonas Huckestein is making way for a new kid on the block, as business printing house Moo’s CTO Meri Williams joins the team. Speaking to City A.M. ahead of the announcement, Williams explained that while there’s nothing at Monzo she wants to change or do differently, she’s [...]