Meet the 18 companies joining the FCA’s regulatory sandbox November 7, 2016 The UK's foward-thinking financial regulator has chosen 18 companies to participate in its so-called regulatory sandbox, where they will be able to test out new technologies without breaching rules. Launched over the summer, the sandbox is designed to foster fintech innovation while remaining under the supervisory eye of the City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority. Read more: [...]
IG Group boss joins fintech startup board November 7, 2016 A top boss at spreadbetter IG Group has joined the board of a startup opening up high level investments to individual private investors. Ian Peacock, head of UK and Ireland at the FTSE 250 firm, will join the advisory board of CoInvestor, an alternative investment platform which lets investors put their cash into assets usually reserved for institutional investors. The six [...]
Tandem is go: Another digital challenger bank has opened its doors November 4, 2016 Tandem, one of a handful of the UK’s digital challenger banks hoping to give the big four a run for their money is opening its doors for business, City A.M. can exclusively reveal. The Tandem mobile banking app will begin rolling out from today to those who have already signed up, with ambitious plans to make [...]
Mobile pay is still waiting for its “Uber moment” (even among millennials) November 3, 2016 Despite our addiction to smartphones, using them to pay for a new winter coat or that morning coffee has yet to become commonplace – even among tech obsessed digital natives, aka millennials. Just a quarter of those aged between 18 and 35 are using mobile pay and only two per cent are using Apple Pay, the [...]
Facebook data and privacy rules sink Admiral’s insurtech plans November 2, 2016 Facebook has sunk plans by Admiral to offer a reduced car insurance premium based on users posts on the social network. It turns out the insurance firm has fallen foul of Facebook's terms of use, which stipulate that data from Facebook can't be used for assessing eligibility. That's exactly what Admiral wanted to do, using posts [...]
Your Facebook profile can’t make your car insurance cheaper, It turns out November 2, 2016 Update: Facebook has blocked plans by Admiral to reduce premiums based on profile data – find out more. Beware what you share – your Facebook status could be giving away more than you think. Insurance firm Admiral is plundering the social network for information that could indicate how safe you are as a driver, resulting in a [...]
Antony Jenkins’ fintech startup has revealed its first banking client November 1, 2016 The former boss of Barclays Antony Jenkins has revealed his new fintech startup's first client – and it's a well known name. 10x Future Technologies will build a digital banking platform for Virgin Money, the challenger bank founded by Richard Branson and boasting millions of customers. It will work on creating a digital platform for the bank [...]
UK fintech pushes for its very own “Big Bang” moment November 1, 2016 The UK’s world leading fintech industry will this week meet with top government officials seeking to spark another “Big Bang” moment, the first of which kicked off the making of the City as a global financial powerhouse. Leaders in the industry will head to Westminster where several meetings with treasury and trade officials are on [...]
Powa play: Dan Wagner ready for legal battle with former director Ben White over collapse of fintech unicorn November 1, 2016 With its multi-billion-dollar valuation, plush Heron Tower headquarters and outspoken founder, British fintech “unicorn” Powa was billed as Britain’s answer to Google – until, in February this year, it sensationally collapsed into administration. Now City A.M. can reveal the collapse is set to trigger a bloody courtroom battle as two of the story’s protagonists go head [...]
Former Barclays boss Antony Jenkins launches fintech business October 31, 2016 Former Barclays boss Antony Jenkins has launched his new fintech business, 10x Future Technologies, which he thinks will "transform how banks operate". The platform will provide banks “with a new core digital banking platform” that Jenkins said would allow them to unify their range of complex data systems. Jenkins said 10x Future Technologies will give [...]