Calling all startups: The FCA’s fintech accelerator is open for business May 9, 2016 Fintech startups will now be able to test out their ideas without fear of getting on the wrong side of regulators. A so-called sandbox has been launched by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today offering a tech accelerator environment for young firms looking to disrupt finance. "Supporting innovation is an essential part of our role in promoting competition [...]
The blockchain payments app: How Circle plans to change the way we spend – and think about money May 9, 2016 You don't pay to send someone an email – to send information from one place to another. And merchants typically pick up the cost of actually making the transaction when you buy something online. And the founders of Circle – the free, blockchain-enabled payments app – don’t think you should pay to send money, either. [...]
Why banks should be offering more P2P and bitcoin services for SMEs May 9, 2016 UK banks could generate £8.5bn in extra revenue by 2020 if they broaden their offerings for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), according to a new report. Accenture's SME Banking 2020 report found there is currently a “significant perception gap” between small businesses and banks. Banks are also facing “stiff competition” from fintech, and should be [...]
Jack Dorsey’s Square posts $379m revenue for first quarter as losses narrow May 5, 2016 Payment processing firm Square, started by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, has reported revenue of $379m (£262m), a 51 per cent increase year-on-year, beating analysts' expectations. Analysts had been expecting the company to report $344m in revenue. The mobile payment firm reported sales of $374.4m in the previous quarter. Transaction revenue was $300m, while Starbucks transaction revenue was the next [...]
London fintech star Azimo lands millions from Rakuten May 5, 2016 More money is pouring into London fintech as one of its star startups has landed new investment from Japan's biggest ecommerce firm Rakuten, among others. Digital money transfer firm Azimo has raised $15m (£10.3M) in a new round, bringing its total investment to $47m. The new cash will be used to fuel expansion in Asia. “We serve a growing community of hardworking migrants who are [...]
Crowdfunding platforms beware: The banks – and others – are eating your lunch May 5, 2016 European crowdfunding platforms could be left fighting for their piece of the pie. Incumbent financial players, including asset managers and banks, not-for-profit organisations, and non-financial firms are entering the crowdfunding business in increasing numbers. Recent research that I conducted with Politecnico di Milano’s Massimiliano Guerini, Evila Piva and Cristina Rossi-Lamastrais analysed the proliferation of crowdfunding across [...]
Introducing the DAO: The organisation that will kill corporations May 3, 2016 Imagine a world where companies didn’t exist. Instead of corporate entities being brought into existence through statute, networks of individuals would work, co-operate and generate wealth via DAOs – decentralised autonomous organisations. The hierarchical, centrally governed organisations we’re all so familiar with would not be needed. This is the world that the creators of the [...]
Nutmeg chief Nick Hungerford is stepping down May 3, 2016 One of the UK’s best known fintech entrepreneurs Nick Hungerford is stepping down as chief of the Nutmeg, the wealth management startup he co-founded. The firm, which has landed millions of pounds in backing from the likes of Schroders, has named revenue chief Martin Stead his successor and Hungerford will become a non-executive director. Here’s what [...]
How established firms can fight back against fintech startups and being “uberised” April 29, 2016 When a new species enters an ecosystem, it can be disastrous for the existing inhabitants. The same is true in business. Financial markets are awash with innovation – fintech rules the day. Established players, worried that they may suddenly get ‘uberised’, have been forced to sit up. Read more: Fintech is coming to take your banking [...]
Peer-to-peer mortgage company LendInvest announces £40m warehouse funding line from Macquarie April 28, 2016 A peer-to-peer (P2P) mortgage lender has announced a new funding round worth £40m. The firm has signed a warehouse financing deal with investment bank Macquarie. LendInvest said the £40m, used to fund mortgages via its website, will allow it to grow and consolidate its position in the UK short-term mortgage market. Read more: Skype's founder just invested £17m in this [...]